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Ibrahim Zadran returns while Mujeeb Ur Rahman is dropped from Afghanistan’s squad for the upcoming Champions Trophy 2025 campaign.
Afghanistan announced their 15-man squad for the Champions Trophy 2025. (Image: AFP, Sportzpics)
The Afghanistan Cricket Board announced the national team’s 15-man squad that is set to take part in the upcoming Champions Trophy 2025, scheduled to begin from February 19 to March 09 in Pakistan and UAE.
The side’s prolific top-order batter, Ibrahim Zadran, makes his return to the side after being out of action due to an ankle injury. Sediqullah Atal, who had an impressive ODI series against Zimbabwe, has also cut the upcoming campaign.
Hashmatullah Shahidi will lead the national side for the coming campaign, and Rahmat Shah has been named his deputy as well. For the wicketkeeping options, the star opening batter, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, will be their first-choice gloveman, with Ikram Alikhil as his backup.
As expected, Rashid Khan has been included in the squad, and his all-round abilities will be decisive in the side’s chances of going far in the tournament. In order to bolster the spin attack, they have also included the mystery spinner, Allah Ghazanfar, in the squad along with Noor Ahmad to form a leg-spin trio.
A big name that has been dropped from the squad is Mujeeb-ur-Rahman, the mystery spinner who has not been included in the squad. According to the ACB’s interim chief selector, the bowler has yet to fully recover from his injuries and has been advised to play only T20Is for the time being.
In the fast-bowling unit, Fazalhaq Farooqi, who had a stellar T20 World Cup 2024, will lead the pace attack along with the likes of Gulbadin Naib and Azmatullah Omarzai as well.
The squad will undergo a preparatory camp, which will be divided into phases and held before their journey. They would also look to continue their impressive streak of performances as seen in the previous two ICC events.
Afghanistan will begin their campaign in Karachi as they take on South Africa in their tournament opener in Karachi. This would then be followed by two games in Lahore, where they take on England and Australia.
Afghanistan’s 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.
Reserves: Darwish Rasooli, Nangyal Kharoti, Bilal Sami
