In a serious setback for Afghanistan, their rising spin star Allah Ghazanfar has been dominated out of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. The 18-year-old has been a standout performer for the Afghan crew since making his ODI debut final 12 months. With 21 wickets in simply 11 ODIs, he was anticipated to play an important position in Afghanistan’s marketing campaign within the prestigious eight-team match in Pakistan. Nonetheless, an unlucky damage sustained throughout Afghanistan’s latest tour of Zimbabwe has now sidelined him for at the very least 4 months, forcing him to overlook each the Champions Trophy and the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season.
Allah Ghazanfar’s unlucky Damage and anticipated restoration timeline
Ghazanfar’s damage occurred throughout Afghanistan’s Zimbabwe tour, the place he suffered a fracture within the decrease again (L4 vertebra, particularly within the left pars interarticularis). Following medical evaluation, it has been confirmed that his restoration will take a minimal of 4 months, making it not possible for him to take part within the Champions Trophy, set to be performed in Pakistan in February-March 2025. He may also miss the IPL 2025, the place he was signed by the Mumbai Indians (MI) for INR 4.80 crore within the mega public sale final 12 months. The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) formally confirmed his damage standing by means of an announcement on Wednesday, February 12, by way of their social media accounts.
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Substitute for the ICC Champions Trophy
With Ghazanfar dominated out, Afghanistan has known as up Nangyal Kharoti, who was initially a part of the reserves pool, to the 15-member squad for the ICC match. Kharoti, a promising younger spinner, will now have a chance to show himself on the worldwide stage as Afghanistan prepares for a tricky Group B marketing campaign. In the meantime, Afghanistan will proceed to overlook the providers of Mujeeb Ur Rahman, who stays unavailable for ODI choice till he has totally recovered from his damage. With Ghazanfar’s absence being a serious blow, Afghanistan will now depend on their skilled gamers and new additions to step up as they goal for a robust exhibiting within the Champions Trophy 2025.
🚨 INJURY UPDATE 🚨
Afghanistan’s younger spin-bowling sensation, AM Ghazanfar, has been dominated out of the ICC Champions Trophy attributable to a fracture within the L4 vertebra, particularly within the left pars interarticularis. He sustained the damage throughout Afghanistan’s just lately held tour… pic.twitter.com/g0ALWe7HVe
— Afghanistan Cricket Board (@ACBofficials) February 12, 2025
Afghanistan’s Champions Trophy 2025 marketing campaign schedule
Regardless of the setback, Afghanistan are gearing up for his or her third Champions Trophy look, set to start on February 21, 2025. They’ll kick off their group-stage matches towards South Africa at Nationwide Stadium in Karachi. Their second fixture might be towards England on February 26 at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, adopted by an important encounter towards Australia on February 28 on the identical venue. The crew will now must restructure their bowling assault within the absence of their younger spin sensation, with further duty prone to fall on Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmad and Kharoti.
