ISLAMABAD: The Afghanistan Cricket Board has appointed former Pakistan captain Younis Khan as a mentor for the International Cricket Council (ICC) Champions Trophy 2025.
The 2009 T20 World Cup winner skipper will mentor the Afghanistan team in the eight nations mega event.
The legendary Pakistani batter is not the first time to serve the Afghanistan national team. In 2002, he served as the team’s batting coach in 2022.
Indian’s Ajay Jadeja in the ODI World Cup 2023 and Jonathan Trott in the T20 World Cup 2024 helped Afghanistan do well in ICC events.
Afghanistan will be a force to reckon with in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. In the 2023 ODI World Cup, they defeated teams like England, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.
They almost beat Australia too, but Glenn Maxwell’s brilliance guided Australia to victory. Afghanistan is a massive threat in subcontinent conditions and will be the biggest dark horse in the Champions Trophy.
Afghanistan’s outstanding performance in ODI World Cup 2023
Jonathan Trott helped them reach the T20 World Cup 2024 semifinals, where they beat New Zealand, Australia, and Bangladesh.
Younis Khan will join the team before the ICC Champions Trophy starts on February 19 in Pakistan.
“ACB has assigned former Pakistani top-order player Younis Khan as Mentor for Champions Trophy 2025,” confirmed Sayeed Naseem Sadat, ACB spokesman.
Younis Khan is one of Pakistan’s cricket legends. He scored 10,099 runs in 118 Tests, with a best of 313. As captain, he led Pakistan to the 2009 T20 World Cup win.
Also Read: ICC Champions Trophy 2025 official schedule announced
Younis has coaching experience, having worked with Pakistan’s national team, Peshawar Zalmi in the PSL, and Bangla Tigers in the Abu Dhabi T10 League.
Afghanistan is in Group B with South Africa, England, and Australia. They will play South Africa on February 21, England on February 26, and Australia on February 28.
