Mujeeb Ur Rahman excluded as Afghanistan announce squad for ICC Champions Trophy 2025

Afghanistan will participate in their maiden ICC Champions Trophy event.

The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) announced their 15-player squad on January 12 for the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy 2025, which is scheduled to take place in Pakistan and Dubai from February 19.

Afghanistan are in Group B with Australia, England, and South Africa. They will begin their campaign against South Africa on February 21 in Karachi.

Afghanistan has made a key addition with top-order batter Ibrahim Zadran returning after recovering from an ankle injury.

The squad also includes Sediqullah Atal, who recently impressed in the three-match ODI series against Zimbabwe, where he bagged the Player of the Series award for 156 runs, including a century and a half-century in two matches.

One notable exclusion from the squad is that of Mujeeb Ur Rahman, who misses out due to injury concerns and has been advised to only play T20 cricket for now. Young mystery spinner AM Ghazanfar has been included in the squad for his maiden ICC tournament.

ACB Chief Mr. Ahmad Suliman Khil clarified that Mujeeb was unavailable for selection as doctors have suggested him to focus on T20s for recovery.

He said, “Mujeeb Ur Rahman was not available for the selection as he has been advised by his doctor to focus on T20s for a while to ensure his full recovery before returning to ODIs. That was also the reason he missed on the recently concluded ODI series against Zimbabwe.”

Afghanistan 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 Ahmad Malik.

Reserves: Darwish Rasooli, Nangyal Kharoti and Bilal Sami

Afghanistan group stage schedule:

21 February – Afghanistan vs South Africa, Karachi

24 February – Afghanistan vs England, Lahore

27 February – Afghanistan vs Australia, Lahore

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