Afghanistan have named their Champions Trophy squad with Ibrahim Zadran returning back to the side after recovering from an ankle injury. He was out of the squad since June 2024. Hashmatullah Shahidi will continue to captain the ODI side, with Rahmat Shah as his deputy. Shahidi led the side in the 2023 ODI World Cup as well.
This is the first time Afghanistan is playing in an ICC Champions Trophy. Their phenomenal performance in the ODI World Cup in 2023 helped them qualify for the tournament. The Afghans beat sides like England and Sri Lanka in the ODI World Cup.
Meanwhile, there have been protests by South Africa and England Cricket Boards who have threatened to boycott their matches against Afghanistan. The Taliban rule disbaning the Afghanistan cricket team is the actual reason behind this. This comes after the uprising political tensions between the Taliban government and Afghanistan.
Talking about the side, along with Hasmatullah Shahidi, Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi are the other experienced players in the side. They have a few good youngsters namely Naveen-ul-Haq, Riaz Hassan, Abdul Rahman, Najibullah Zadran. Meanwhile, Darwish Rasooli, Nangyal Kharoti and Bilal Sami are the reserves Afghanistan have named for the eight-team tournament.
The Afghan selectors have picked up Allah Ghazanfar ahead of Mujeeb Ur Rahman, who was not deemed fit by the physio. Afghanistan's squad includes 10 players who featured in their 2023 World Cup campaign. This is a good indication of a strong core that they have been able to maintain.
ACB Chairman Hopeful Of Afghanistan's Domination in Champions Trophy
ACB Chairman Mirwais Ashraf said that Afghanistan have impressed with their performances in the last two ICC events and he is expecting them to stand up in the Champions Trophy as well.
"AfghanAtalan have performed exceptionally well in the past two ICC events, the CWC23 and the ICC World T20 2024. Their impressive performances in these two event coupled with their ODI series victories last year will undoubtedly boost their morale and help them deliver an even better campaign this time," said the ACB Chairman.
Afghanistan are in Group B alongside Australia, England and South Africa. They take on South Africa on February 21 (Karachi), England on February 26 (Lahore) and Australia on February 28 (Lahore).
