Younis Khan to Mentor Afghanistan in Their Historic ICC Champions Trophy Appearance
Afghanistan is going to take part in the Champions Trophy for the first time ever, and Pakistan is hosting the Champions Trophy 2025. It's been eight years since they had the last one in 2017, but next month, the ICC Champions Trophy is happening again.
On Wednesday, January 8, the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) revealed they are inviting former Pakistan captain Younis Khan to be the mentor for their Champions Trophy 2025. Younis was on the team before he was the batting coach for Afghanistan in 2022.
"ACB has assigned former top-order Pakistani player Younis Khan as Mentor for Champions Trophy 2025. He will join the team before the event starts in Pakistan," said Sayeed Naseem Sadat, the spokesman of the ACB, in a statement to Cricbuzz.
Afghan cricket just reached a very important step by doing an excellent job in the Champions Trophy. They achieved this by being one of the top 8 teams in the 2023 ODI World Cup in India. It's really great because it's the first time they've ever made it into the tournament.
Younis Khan's Career
Younis Khan achieved some excellent numbers during his career by hitting 10,099 runs in 118 Tests, 7,249 runs in 265 ODIs, and 442 in 25 T20Is. Under his guidance, Pakistan won their first T20 World Cup trophy in 2009. After retiring from international cricket Younis entered into coaching, lending his skills as Pakistan's batting coach.
Besides that, he's coached Peshawar Zalmi in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) and even took the lead as head coach for the Bangla Tigers in the Abu Dhabi T20 League.
Afghanistan's first game is going to be against South Africa on February 21 at the National Stadium in Karachi. They're in Group B for the Champions Trophy, which also has teams from Australia, England, and South Africa. Then, they will compete against England on February 26 at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. Their last match in the group is against Australia, who won last time, and it is taking place on February 28 in Lahore.
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