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Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) on Sunday, January 12, officially announced a strong Afghanistan National Cricket Team squad for the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy.
Team Afghanistan will make it to the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 after their sensational performances in the last two ICC tournaments – the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 and the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024.
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Mujeeb Ur Rahman left out of Afghanistan squad
The Afghanistan Cricket Board’s National Selection Committee on Sunday announced the squad for the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy, which will be played from February 19 to March 9 at four venues in Dubai and Pakistan.
Hashmatullah Shahidi will lead the team in the 8-team competition and Rahmat Shah will be his deputy. Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ikram Alikhil will be the two wicketkeepers in the squad, and star batsman Ibrahim Zadran, who was sidelined with an ankle injury, has made his comeback.
Sediqullah Atal, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi and Gulbadin Naib are also present in the squad along with superstar spinner Rashid Khan, AM Ghazanfar and Noor Ahmad.
However, Mujeeb Ur Rahman has not been included in the 15-man squad. The spinner has been ruled out as he is yet to fully recover from his injury and has been advised by his doctor to focus on T20s before returning to ODIs. Also, Darwish Rasooli, Nangyal Kharoti and Bilal Sami have been kept in reserves.
AfghanAtalan has performed exceptionally well in the last two ICC events: ACB President
In an official statement released by the board, the president of the ACB, Mr. Mirwais Ashraf, stated that they are confident that the team will perform well in the marquee tournament after their success in the last two ICC events.
Mirwais was also delighted with the appointment of legendary Pakistani batsman Younis Khan as the team’s mentor and stated that the Hashmatullah Shahidi-led team would be looking forward to making the most of his experience. He elaborated:
“AfghanAtalan has performed exceptionally well in the last two ICC events, the CWC23 and the ICC World T20 2024. Their impressive performances in these two events along with the ODI series wins last year certainly , will boost their morale and help them deliver an even better campaign this time.”
“The appointment of mentors has proven to be quite beneficial for us in the last two events. Given this success, we have appointed Mr. Younis Khan, who has extensive international and local experience, and we look forward to making the most of his experience during the event.”
In the same press release, ACB Acting Chief Selector Ahmad Suliman Khil spoke about the absence of spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman and added that the Afghans are used to playing in the conditions that will be offered in the Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates. He added that they have high expectations from the Afghanistan team and expected the players to put up brilliant performances.
“Mujeeb Ur Rahman was not available for selection as his doctor has advised him to focus on T20s for some time to ensure his full recovery before returning to ODIs. This was also the reason why he missed the recently concluded ODI series against Zimbabwe.”
“Conditions in Pakistan are similar to Afghanistan and UAE, where we normally play. We will conduct a multi-phase warm-up camp before embarking on our journey for the big event. Expectations are high, and I hope for the team to prepare well and put in excellent performances, just like they did in the last two World Cups,” he said.
Here’s Afghanistan’s 15-man squad for ICC Champions Trophy 2025
Team: 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 Ghazandfar, Noor Fazal Haq Farooqi, Naveed Zadran and Farid Ahmad Malik.
Reserve pool: Darwish Rasooli, Nangyal Kharoti and Bilal Sami
