Ahead of their Champions Trophy 2025 match, Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi has issued a warning to South Africa. The two sides will square off in the major event at Karachi's National Stadium on Friday, February 20. The Afghanistan captain was questioned prior to the match if his squad would be under pressure because they have only won two games against the Proteas.
Hashmatullah Shahidi warns SA
The Afghanistan captain dismissed any worries about his squad, stating that they will draw strength from their recent series victory against South Africa in Sharjah. Afghanistan defeated South Africa 2-1 to record their first victory in an ODI series against a team ranked in the top five.
"Between 2019 and now there’s too much difference and just recently we beat them in Sharjah - 2-1 so we have that confidence with us, and we are not under pressure anyway, because right now we are focusing what we can do in this tournament and I believe that our team is more ready for this tournament and we are focusing on our own team. There is no pressure on us," said Shahidi in the pre-match press conference.
Afghanistan has been playing well in white-ball formats lately, as evidenced by their impressive achievements in the most recent ODI and T20 World Cups. With their historic victories over England and Pakistan, they were in the running to advance to the semi-finals. They shocked Australia in the Super 8s of the most recent T20 World Cup 2024, advancing them to the semi-finals of an ICC major event for the first time.
Afghanistan will therefore be keen to carry on their winning streak in the ICC Champions Trophy. With conditions in Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates favouring their spin-heavy assault, they will aim to reach their first-ever ICC event final after being placed in Group B alongside Australia, England, and Sri Lanka.