“It’s been 84 years,” went the famous line in the 1997 Titanic movie as Rose returned to the Atlantic above the doomed ship of dreams. The year before James Cameron’s epic release, the kings of the (cricket) world were Sri Lanka as they beat Australia at Lahore in the ICC World Cup final. That was the last time Pakistan held a major cricket tournament. When the Green Shirts play New Zealand in the opening match of the 2025 Champions Trophy on Wednesday, it will be a huge step forward for the country’s global cricket credibility.

Pakistan’s internal security has seen a marked improvement in reaching this stage. After the terrorist attack on the Sri Lanka team bus in 2009 which saw seven police officers killed and six players injured, the country was ousted from co-hosting the subsequent 2011 World Cup. A decade later, the Sri Lankans returned. England came in 2022 for the first time in 17 years and Australia toured after a 24-year gap.

It would be easy to forget about the actual cricket, especially as India are competing but not in Pakistan. Long-standing political tensions between the two nations alongside security worries meant that the PCB, BCCI and ICC agreed that Dubai would host India’s matches.

The journey here has been as uneven as the team. “Pakistan cricket at its best: one minute down, next minute up,” said Nasser Hussain at one point. This squad are never predictable, never secure, and never short of talent. It’s a hothouse mix of elements that might just find some kind of perfect chaos when it counts.

“Look, we have a few concerns. As a player, I would say we need to improve our awareness a bit. We need to enhance our professionalism,” Rizwan admitted in a press conference. That was a stark statement. Later, he would also say that they tend to crack under the pressure. Maybe it was all a ruse to take the pressure off.

When looking at Pakistan’s record in international ODI tournaments, everything stops making sense. In the 2017 Champions Trophy played in England, they were the lowest-ranked side in the competition. However, they thrashed Eoin Morgan’s fancied side in the semifinals and hammered India by 180 runs in the final.

This was after Virat Kohli’s team had soundly beaten their rivals in the first group game. “It was in control in 40 overs but we lost the plot in the last eight overs,” admitted skipper Sarfraz Ahmed. That sounds par for the Pakistan ‘crazy golf’ cricket course. ”Lost the plot” was the phrase used by ex-coach Gary Kirsten when Pakistan were chasing a modest 120 against the Indians in the T20 World Cup in New York last June. They were also annihilated by Rohit Sharma’s team during the 2023 World Cup.

India is the rampaging elephant in Pakistan’s room. They have lost to their rivals heavily in ODI matches over the last decade, including twice in the Emirates where the two meet on February 23. Without real home advantage, the odds are again skewed towards the Men in Blue who looked in good shape after whitewashing England in their three-match series. The rationale is that things eventually have to change by accident or design. If Pakistan can focus and get their “professional” heads on for the majority of the match then they will be competitive. It’s a big if.

Pakistan are the team that can peak at the right time. They did it in the 1992 World Cup final after almost going out of the competition. They would have won the 2021 T20 World Cup final in Melbourne but for Ben Stokes’ resistance and Shaheen Afridi’s untimely injury.

The hosts are in Group A which also includes Afghanistan as well as the Kiwis and India. The holders have an excellent pace attack with Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf and Muhammad Hasnain. Fakhar Zaman will hope to relight the fire he produced in the 2017 final while Babar Azam, back among the rank and file, is still searching for form in all formats. Khushdil Shah, Salman Agha and Kamran Ghulam are all moderate thirtysomething spinners. The lack of slow magic might prove costly.

Pakistan are the perennial joker in the pack. When they get it wrong, the wheels deflate and the vehicle is a write-off. When they get it right, its like watching a high-speed train doing wheelies. Nothing seems sustainable. If they can make it to the final, all bets are off.