Srinagar: Former India cricketer Parthiv Patel has said that Afghanistan can be a surprise package in the ICC Championship 2025.
“There’ll be India, Pakistan, South Africa, and Australia just given the record in the ICC trophies,” said Parthiv Patel was quoted as saying.
“But my dark horse is Afghanistan. They’ve got they’ve played really good cricket in the 50-over format”.
“It was just that Glenn Maxwell’s innings otherwise I think they were right there in the race to reach the semifinals [of the ICC ODI World Cup 2023]. So you know Afghanistan could come in and surprise all other teams.”
ICC Champions Trophy will kick off on 19 February with host and defending champions Pakistan taking on New Zealand in the curtain-raiser in Karachi’s National Bank Stadium.
Afghanistan is scheduled to kick off their campaign with a clash against South Africa at Karachi’s newly renovated National Bank Stadium on February 21, before they face England and Australia at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium.
Afghanistan 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, Nangyal Kharote, Noor Ahmad, Fazal Haq Farooqi, Naveed Zadran and Farid Ahmad Malik.