Tag: Afghanistan

Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi has made it clear that his team is focused on delivering a strong performance in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 clash against England, scheduled to be played in Lahore on 26 February.

Reflecting on Afghanistan’s famous win over England in the 2023 ODI World Cup, Shahidi acknowledged the significance of that match but stressed that it’s now a thing of the past.

“We played a great game against England in 2023, but that is history now. We will take the field with a fresh mindset and new preparations,” he stated.

With discussions around Afghanistan’s semifinal chances heating up, Shahidi dismissed any external noise, asserting that only performance on the field will determine their fate.

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“No matter what people say, nothing changes. If we want to reach the semifinals, we have to put in the hard work on the field,” he added.

Hashmatullah Shahidi admitted that the conditions in Karachi did not favour their spinners. However, he remains hopeful that the Lahore pitch will offer more assistance.

“Our spinners didn’t get much help in Karachi, but we are hopeful that conditions in Lahore will be in our favour,” he said.

Afghanistan’s coaching setup includes Pakistan legend Younis Khan, and Shahidi highlighted the immense value his presence brings to the team.

“Younis Khan is a legend, and we are trying to benefit from his experience. When he speaks, everyone listens,” Shahidi remarked.

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The Afghan captain believes Younis’ deep understanding of Pakistan’s pitches and conditions can be a game-changer for the team.

“He has played a lot of cricket in Pakistan, and he knows these pitches and grounds well. We will try to use that knowledge to our advantage,” he added.

Looking ahead to the England game, Shahidi expressed confidence in his batting unit, reminding everyone that Afghanistan’s lineup has shown its strength in the past.

“If we look at the past, our team has put up strong batting performances. I believe we still have a solid batting lineup,” he concluded.

READ: Champions Trophy 2025: Toss of Australia-South Africa clash delayed due to rain

READ: Here’s when Imam-ul-Haq will join Pakistan’s Champions Trophy squad

Former Indian wicket-keeper Parthiv Patel has backed the Afghanistan cricket team to surprise the world during the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy 2025, set to commence on 19 February in Pakistan.

Patel, during a media interaction, stated that Afghanistan could be the dark horse of the mega event while predicting the final four teams.

“There’ll be India, Pakistan, South Africa, and Australia just given the record in the ICC trophies,” said Patel.

“But my dark horse is Afghanistan. They’ve got they’ve played really good cricket in the 50-over format.

“It was just that Glenn Maxwell’s innings otherwise I think they were right there in the race to reach the semifinals [of the ICC ODI World Cup 2023]. So you know Afghanistan could come in and surprise all other teams.”

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It’s worth noting that the ninth edition of the ICC Champions Trophy will kick off on 19 February with host and defending champions Pakistan taking on New Zealand in the curtain-raiser in Karachi’s National Bank Stadium.

Afghanistan will kick off their campaign with a clash against South Africa at Karachi’s newly renovated National Bank Stadium on February 21, before they face England and Australia at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium.

For the unversed, Afghanistan’s performance in white-ball cricket has been strong recently — finishing sixth in the ICC ODI World Cup in 2023 and reaching the semi-final in last year’s T20 World Cup.

Afghanistan beat England and Pakistan in the ODI World Cup and Australia and New Zealand in the T20 World Cup.

Afghanistan squad for Champions Trophy 2025

Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Rahmat Shah (vc), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ikram Alikhil (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Sediqullah Atal, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan, Nangyal Kharote, Noor Ahmad, Fazal Haq Farooqi, Naveed Zadran and Farid Ahmad Malik.

READ: Babar Azam eyes major milestone in tri-nation series final against New Zealand

KABUL: Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) has named left-arm spinner Nangyal Kharote as the replacement for the injured spinner AM Ghazanfar in their squad for the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy 2025.

The 18-year-old spinner, who made a bright start to his ODI career, has been ruled out of the Champions Trophy 2025 because of a “fracture in the L4 vertebra”.

The country’s cricket board took to their official X (formerly Twitter) account to announce the unfortunate news.

“Afghanistan’s young spin-bowling sensation, AM Ghazanfar, has been ruled out of the ICC Champions Trophy due to a fracture in the L4 vertebra, specifically in the left pars interarticularis,” ACB posted.

“He sustained the injury during Afghanistan’s recently held tour Zimbabwe and will be sidelined for a minimum of four months and will remain under treatment during this period.

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“Nangyal Kharoti, who was part of the reserves pool, has been promoted to the main squad for the Champions Trophy. Additionally, Mujeeb Ur Rahman’s continues to miss the ODI action, until he has fully recovered.”

It’s worth noting that the ninth edition of the ICC Champions Trophy will kick off on 19 February with host and defending champions Pakistan taking on New Zealand in the curtain-raiser in Karachi’s National Bank Stadium.

Afghanistan will kick off their campaign with a clash against South Africa at Karachi’s newly renovated National Bank Stadium on February 21, before they face England and Australia at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium.

For the unversed, Afghanistan’s performance in white-ball cricket has been strong recently — finishing sixth in the ICC ODI World Cup in 2023 and reaching the semi-final in last year’s T20 World Cup.

Afghanistan beat England and Pakistan in the ODI World Cup and Australia and New Zealand in the T20 World Cup.

Afghanistan squad for Champions Trophy 2025

Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Rahmat Shah (vc), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ikram Alikhil (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Sediqullah Atal, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan, Nangyal Kharote, Noor Ahmad, Fazal Haq Farooqi, Naveed Zadran and Farid Ahmad Malik.

READ: Key player withdraws from Champions Trophy as Australia name revamped squad

Former Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar has predicted that the Afghanistan cricket team will make it to the semi-finals of the upcoming ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025, set to be played from February 19 to March 9.

The former pacer, during a media interaction in Dubai, was asked to name his final four teams for the Champions Trophy.

In response, he included arch-rivals Pakistan and India as well as Afghanistan, who are participating in their first Champions Trophy.

“I believe Pakistan, India, and Afghanistan will reach the semi-finals of the 2025 Champions Trophy,” said Shoaib Akhtar.

“If Afghanistan’s team demonstrates maturity and their batsmen show patience, they could deliver surprising results.”

Meanwhile, he expressed his faith in the Pakistan cricket team to defeat India in the high-octane clash between the neighbouring countries.

“I’m hopeful that Pakistan will defeat India on February 23. In fact, I believe that both Pakistan and India should also meet in the final of the tournament,” he predicted.

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“If Pakistan defeats India and New Zealand in the Champions Trophy, the Green Shirts will have already won half the tournament.”

It’s worth noting that the ninth edition of the ICC Champions Trophy will kick off on 19 February with host and defending champions Pakistan taking on New Zealand in the curtain-raiser in Karachi’s National Bank Stadium.

The eight-team tournament will consist of 15 matches over 19 days and will take place in Pakistan and Dubai.

In Pakistan, Rawalpindi, Lahore, and Karachi will be the three venues to host tournament play. Each Pakistan venue will feature three group games apiece, with Lahore hosting the second semi-final.

Lahore will also host the final on 9 March, unless India qualify, in which case it will be played in Dubai.

Both the semi-finals and the final will have reserve days. The three group matches involving India, as well as the first semi-final, will be played in Dubai.

READ: Here’s why no Indian match officials will officiate in Champions Trophy 2025

KABUL: The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) has revealed the new team jersey for their maiden outing of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, set to be hosted by defending Champions Pakistan.

The announcement was made via the cricket board’s social handles, in which ACB shared a video of Afghanistan players wearing the jersey which took inspiration from the country’s cultural heritage.

The team kit for the Champions Trophy 2025 includes patterns of the historic Jam Minaret in Ghor Province.

The ACB wrote about the design and blending of geometric patterns on the jersey in a post on the social media site Instagram.

The cricket board captioned the post, “Presenting Afghanistan’s Official Jersey for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025!”

“Inspired by our rich cultural heritage, the jersey design beautifully blends the elegance of Naskh calligraphy with the geometric patterns of the historic Jam Minaret in Ghor Province,” the ACB wrote.

 

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A post shared by Afghanistan Cricket Board (@afghanistancricketboard)

“The Jam Minaret, standing for nearly 800 years, is located in the historic city of Firuzkuh along the banks of the Harirod River. With a height of 65 meters and a diameter of 9 meters, it serves as a testament to Afghanistan’s rich heritage.”

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The message added, “As AfghanAtalan take the field, they will wear the spirit of unity, the determination of our nation, and the elegance of Jam. They will create history and keep Afghanistan’s name shining on the global stage!”

The ninth edition of the ICC Champions Trophy will kick off on 19 February with host and defending champions Pakistan taking on New Zealand in the curtain-raiser in Karachi’s National Bank Stadium.

Afghanistan will kick off their Champions Trophy campaign with a clash against South Africa in Karachi on February 21, before they face England and Australia in Lahore.

Afghanistan will kick off their Champions Trophy campaign with a clash against South Africa in Karachi on February 21, before they face England and Australia in Lahore.

Afghanistan squad for Champions Trophy 2025

Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Rahmat Shah (vc), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ikram Alikhil (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Sediqullah Atal, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan, AM Ghazanfar, Noor Ahmad, Fazal Haq Farooqi, Naveed Zadran and Farid Ahmad Malik.

READ: PCB finalizes schedule for Champions Trophy opening ceremony: sources

England captain Jos Buttler stated that his side’s match against Afghanistan at the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 should go ahead after calls for a boycott over the Taliban regime’s assault on women’s rights.

A group of more than 160 British politicians have written to the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) calling for England not to play the match against Afghanistan in Lahore on February 26.

Since returning to power in 2021 the Taliban have effectively banned the participation of women in both sports as well as broader public life.

That puts the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) at odds with the rules of the governing body the International Cricket Council (ICC).

However, Jos Buttler said sports and politics should be kept separate.

“Political situations like this, as a player you’re trying to be as informed as you can be,” he told reporters ahead of the first T20 against India in Kolkata on Wednesday.

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“The experts know a lot more about it, so I’ve been trying to stay in dialogue with Rob Key (managing director of ECB) and the guys above to see how they see it.

“I don’t think a boycott is the way to go about it,” he added.

“Certainly as a player, you don’t want political situations to affect sport. We hope to go to the Champions Trophy and play that game and have a really good tournament.”

The ECB has resisted calls for a boycott, with chief executive Richard Gould saying instead he would “actively advocate” for collective action by the ICC instead.

The ICC has allowed the Afghanistan men’s team to keep competing in global competitions.

England are clubbed with Afghanistan, Australia and South Africa in the group phase of the Champions Trophy, which begins on February 19.

READ: BCCI clears the air on removing Pakistan’s name from Champions Trophy jersey

Afghanistan announced their squad for next month’s ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025, with prolific opener Ibrahim Zadran returning after an injury lay-off but spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman missing out.

The country’s performance in white-ball cricket has been strong recently — finishing sixth in the ICC ODI World Cup in 2023 and reaching the semi-final in last year’s T20 World Cup.

This will be the first time Afghanistan participate in the eight-nation Champions Trophy, staged between February 19 and March 9 in Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates.

“Zadran, who was away from action due to an ankle injury, has returned to the squad,” said a statement from the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB).

“However, Mujeeb Ur Rahman misses out on the selection, as AM Ghazanfar, a similar mystery spinner, has made the cut for the mega event.”

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Rahman was left out because “he has been advised by his doctor to focus on T20s for a while to ensure his full recovery”, added acting ACB chief selector Ahmad Suliman Khil.

But the ACB said that the fast-rising opener Sediqullah Atal did secure a place in the squad.

Afghanistan beat England and Pakistan in the ODI World Cup and Australia and New Zealand in the T20 World Cup.

The ninth edition of the ICC Champions Trophy will kick off on 19 February with host and defending champions Pakistan taking on New Zealand in the curtain-raiser in Karachi’s National Bank Stadium.

Afghanistan will kick off their Champions Trophy campaign with a clash against South Africa in Karachi on February 21, before they face England and Australia in Lahore.

Afghanistan squad for Champions Trophy 2025

Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Rahmat Shah (vc), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ikram Alikhil (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Sediqullah Atal, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan, AM Ghazanfar, Noor Ahmad, Fazal Haq Farooqi, Naveed Zadran and Farid Ahmad Malik.

READ: Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood return to Australia squad for Champions Trophy

Skipper Pat Cummins and injured paceman Josh Hazlewood were named in the squad of Australia for the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy 2025, in Pakistan next month.

Cummins opted out of the Sri Lanka series, which is set to commence later this month, due to the birth of his second child. He is also reportedly carrying a knee injury.

Meanwhile, Hazlewood was included in the two-time tournament winners’ preliminary 15-man line-up after calf and side strains restricted him to just two Tests during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against India over the summer.

While they return, opener Jake Fraser-McGurk was dumped, paying the price for his poor recent form after opening for Australia during their most recent one-day series against Pakistan.

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“This is a balanced and experienced squad with the core having been involved in the previous one-day World Cup, the West Indies series, last year’s successful tour of the UK and the more recent Pakistan home series,” said chief selector George Bailey.

“It offers a variety of options for touring management depending on the opposition and the conditions that may present in Pakistan.”

The ninth edition of the ICC Champions Trophy will kick off on 19 February with host and defending champions Pakistan taking on New Zealand in the curtain-raiser in Karachi’s National Bank Stadium.

Australia squad for Champions Trophy 2025

Pat Cummins (capt), Alex Carey, Nathan Ellis, Aaron Hardie, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Matt Short, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa

READ: Women’s Ashes 2025: Ashleigh Gardner helps Australia defeat England in first ODI

AUCKLAND: New Zealand Cricket (NZC) on Sunday announced a 15-member squad for the upcoming ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025, scheduled in Pakistan, with India playing their matches in Dubai.

Seasoned players Kane Williamson, Devon Conway and Lockie Ferguson were recalled to form an experienced New Zealand squad to contest the Champions Trophy.

The aforementioned three players were unavailable for the recently concluded home ODI series against Sri Lanka because of offshore T20 commitments.

Batters Williamson and Conway have been playing in South Africa’s T20 league while pace bowler Ferguson is involved in Australia’s Big Bash competition.

Ben Sears was also selected for the ICC tournament co-hosted by Pakistan and UAE, having missed the 2-1 series win over Sri Lanka with a knee injury.

It will be the first senior ICC event for Sears and fellow pace bowlers Will O’Rourke and Nathan Smith.

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Coach Gary Stead will oversee a squad he said also boasted experience and depth.

“We’re currently blessed with a lot of quality players and that certainly made for some challenging selection discussions,” Stead said.

Spin bowler Mitchell Santner will lead New Zealand at a major event for the first time, after being named full-time white ball captain in December.

Santner, former skipper Williamson and wicketkeeper Tom Latham were all part of the New Zealand squad for the last edition of the Champions Trophy, in England and Wales in 2017.

New Zealand will contest the tournament’s opening match against Pakistan in Karachi on February 19, followed by pool games against Bangladesh and India.

New Zealand squad for Champions Trophy 2025

Mitchell Santner (c), Will Young, Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra, Kane Williamson, Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham, Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell, Nathan Smith, Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson, Ben Sears, Will O’Rourke

READ: Shakib Al Hasan dropped as Bangladesh announce squad for Champions Trophy