Pakistan issues postal stamps commemorating Champions Trophy win

Pakistan were rank underdogs coming into the tournament. (Source: Reuters)

Pakistan’s postal service has issued stamps commemorating the cricket team’s incredible coup of the ICC Champions Trophy earlier in the year. Coming into the tournament as rank underdogs, Pakistan thrashed favourites India by 180 runs in the final to lift the trophy. Sarfraz Ahmed, then skipper only in limited overs, was later made Pakistan captain in all formats.

According to ESPN Cricinfo, the stamps are priced at Rs 10 and available for purchase at post offices across the country starting on Thursday. The stamps show the team lifting the trophy and celebrating and another set has a shot of just the trophy and the flags of the teams participating in the tournament.

The win was regarded as Pakistan’s greatest tournament victory since Imran Khan led them to the 1992 World Cup. Even then, stamps were printed commemorating that win. On either side of the Champions Trophy, Pakistan had been struggling. They recently lost a Test series in the UAE against Sri Lanka which prompted a fall to the seventh place in the ICC rankings, just a year after Misbah-Ul-Haq was handed the Test mace for his team taking the no 1 spot. At the same time, it was after the Champions Trophy win that international cricket was played again in Pakistan. A World XI side led by Faf Du Plessis had played a three-match T20I series in Lahore while the the last match of Pakistan T20I series agianst Sri Lanka was played in the city.