afghanistan
Only a few weeks are left for the start of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. The Pakistan-hosted tournament will begin from February 19 in Karachi and will continue till March 9. The eight teams participating in the Champions Trophy are busy making their respective strategies. Meanwhile, Afghanistan has taken a big step. Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) has decided to appoint former Pakistan captain Younis Khan as its mentor for the Champions Trophy. The Champions Trophy will be held in ODI format.
Younis Khan will serve as Afghanistan’s mentor in the upcoming Champions Trophy, which was confirmed by ACB spokesperson Syed Naseem Sadat on Wednesday, reports Cricbuzz. Younis had previously been the batting coach of Afghanistan in 2022. Sadat said, “Younis will join the team before the tournament to be held in Pakistan.” Younis scored 10,099 runs in 118 Tests and 7,249 runs in 265 ODIs in his career. He scored 442 runs in 25 T20 International matches. Under his captaincy, Pakistan won the T20 World Cup in 2009.
After retirement, Younis has taken up the responsibility of coaching many times. He was also the batting coach of Pakistan team for some time. Younis worked with Peshawar Zalmi in the Pakistan Super League (PSL). He was recently the head coach of Bangla Tigers in the Abu Dhabi T10 League. Afghanistan has decided to try the ‘Indian formula’ in Pakistan also by appointing Younis as a mentor. In fact, when the ODI World Cup was organized in India in the year 2023, Afghanistan had appointed former Indian cricketer Ajay Jadeja as its mentor.
Afghanistan benefited greatly from Jadeja’s mentorship in the ODI World Cup as he was well aware of the Indian conditions. Afghanistan won accolades by defeating teams like England, Pakistan and Sri Lanka in the league stage. Afghanistan had also tried a similar strategy in the T20 World Cup 2024. Afghanistan had appointed former West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo as bowling consultant in the shortest format World Cup last year, which yielded good results. Afghanistan played all its matches in the tournament on the soil of West Indies and reached the semi-finals.
