Afghanistan announces for Champions Trophy 2025 squad; Mujeeb Ur Rahman is left off and Ibrahim Zadran returns.
Champions Trophy 2025: Afghanistan Cricket Board said in a statement that Mujeeb Ur Rahman was not available for the selection because his doctor had advised him to concentrate on Twenty20 cricket for a while in order to fully recover before playing ODIs again.
Ankush Pandey
Afghanistan's team for the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy was revealed on Sunday, January 12. The Hashmatullah Shahidi-led Afghan team made their historic tournament debut, with their star opener Ibrahim Zadran in the lineup but spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman left out.
Zadran recently made a comeback to international cricket after he recovered from an ankle injury that had sidelined him in March 2024. Given his impressive ODI stats and his recent stellar T20I comeback against Zimbabwe last month, Mujeeb's exclusion was unexpected.
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ACB Chairman Mirwais Ashraf said, "AfghanAtalan has performed exceptionally well in the past two ICC events, the CWC23 and the ICC World T20 2024." "They will surely have more motivation and be able to run an even better campaign this time around thanks to their outstanding performances in these two events and their wins in the ODI series last year.
"In both of the most recent events, the mentors' appointment has been very advantageous for us. We are looking forward to utilising Younis Khan's vast international and local experience to the fullest during the event, as a result of this success.
Mr. Ahmad Suliman Khil, the ACB Interim Chief Selector, stated that Mujeeb Ur Rahman was not available for the selection because his doctor had advised him to concentrate on Twenty20 cricket for a while in order to fully recover before playing ODIs again. "He was also unable to attend the just-finished ODI series against Zimbabwe because of that."
Also read: South Africa announce 15-Member Squad for the Champions Trophy 2025: Temba Bavuma to Captain
Afghanistan’s squad for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025
Hashmatullah Shahidi (C), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (WK), Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah (VC), Sediqullah Atal, Azmatullah Omarzai, Ikram Alikhil (WK), Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmad, Gulbadin Naib, Fazal Haq Farooqi, Naveed Zadran AM Ghazanfar and Farid Ahmad Malik.
Reserves: Nangyal Kharoti, Darwish Rasooli and Bilal Sami.
In Group B, Afghanistan is paired with South Africa, England, and Australia. Their campaign will start on February 21.
