On Sunday, January 12, the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) officially announced the strong Afghanistan National Cricket Team squad for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.
The Afghanistan team will come to the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 on the back of 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 has been left out of the Afghanistan squad
The National Selection Committee of the Afghanistan Cricket Board on Sunday announced the squad for the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy, which will be played at four venues in Dubai and Pakistan from February 19 to March 09.
Hashemtullah Shahidi He will lead the team in the 8-team competition and Rehmat Shah will be his deputy. Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ikram Alikhil will be two goalkeeper-strikers in the squad, and the star striker Ibrahim Zadran, who was sidelined due to an ankle injury, is back.
Sediqullah Atal, Azmatullah OmarzaiMuhammad Nabi and Gulbadin Naib Superstar spinner Rashid Khan is also in the team along with AM Ghazanfar and Noor Ahmed.
However, Mujeeb Ur Rahman was not included in the 15-man squad. The spinner has been sidelined as he is yet to fully recover from his injury and has been advised by his doctor to focus on the T20s before returning to the ODIs. Darvish Rasuli, Nangyal Kharoti and Bilal Sami were also detained.
AfghanAtalan has performed exceptionally well in the last two ICC events – ACB Chairman
In an official statement issued by the board, ACB Chairman Mr. Mirwais Ashraf said that they are confident that the team will do well in the marquee tournament after their success in the last two ICC events.
Mirwais was also pleased with the appointment of legendary Pakistani batsman Younis Khan as the team’s mentor and said that the Hashemtullah Shahid-led side will look forward to making full use of his experience. He elaborated:
“AfghanAtalan has performed exceptionally well in the last two ICC events, CWC23 and ICC World T20 2024. Their impressive performances in these two events along with the ODIs series The wins last year will surely boost their morale and help them to have an even better campaign this time around.”
“The appointment of teachers has been quite beneficial for us in both the last two events. With this success in mind, we have appointed Mr. Younis Khan, who has vast international and local experience, and we look forward to making full use of his expertise during the event.”
In the same media release, ACB Interim Chief Selector Mr Ahmed 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 Pakistan and UAE. He added that he has high expectations from the Afghanistan team and hopes for brilliant performances from the players.
“Mujeeb Ur Rahman was not available for selection as his doctor has advised him to focus on T20s for a while to ensure full recovery before returning to ODIs. This was also the reason why he missed the recently concluded ODI series against Zimbabwe.
“The conditions in Pakistan are similar to the conditions in Afghanistan and UAE where we usually play. Before we start our journey for the big event, we will have a preparatory camp in several stages. Expectations are high and I hope that the team will prepare well and perform as well as in the last two World Cups.”
Here is Afghanistan’s 15-man squad for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025
Squad: 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 Ahmed Malik.
Reserve pool: Darwish Rasooli, Nangyal Kharoti and Bilal Sami
 officially announced a strong squad of the Afghanistan National Cricket Team for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.){kind=link}