Afghanistan has named former Pakistan captain Younis Khan as their mentor for the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy 2025. He was the team’s batting coach in 2022. An official from the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) confirmed the news on Wednesday (January 8).
Afghanistan will play in the Champions Trophy for the first time after doing well in the ODI World Cup 2023 in India. They finished in the top 8 and qualified directly for the Champions Trophy.
“ACB has assigned former experienced top order Pakistani player Younis Khan as Mentor for Champions Trophy 2025. He (Younis) will join the team before the event starts in Pakistan,” Sayeed Naseem Sadat, the spokesman of ACB stated.
Younis Khan played 118 Tests, 265 ODIs, and 25 T20Is, scoring 10,099, 7,249, and 442 runs in each format. He also led Pakistan to their first-ever T20 World Cup title in 2009.
After retiring, Younis took on several coaching jobs, including batting coach for the Pakistan team for a short period. He also worked with Peshawar Zalmi in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) and was the head coach of the Bangla Tigers in the Abu Dhabi T10 League.
ACB has a history of hiring local legendary players as coaches for the ICC events. Afghanistan brought in Ajay Jadeja as a mentor for the ODI World Cup 2023 and Dwayne Bravo as a bowling coach for the T20 World Cup 2024, which was co-hosted by the West Indies. Now, they have hired Pakistan cricket legend Younis Khan as their mentor for the Champions Trophy 2025, which will be held in Pakistan.
Afghanistan is in Group B of the Champions Trophy with Australia, England, and South Africa. They will begin their tournament journey against South Africa on February 21 at the National Stadium in Karachi.
Next, they will play England on February 26 at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. In their last group match, Afghanistan will face the world champions, Australia, on February 28 in Lahore.
Jasir Basharat is a cricket enthusiast capturing the heart of the game through insightful analysis and storytelling sharing his passion for the sport through engaging narratives. He is a business graduate from University of Kashmir.
