Afghanistan team is on a big mission in the ongoing Champions Trophy 2025 as they are just one step away from sealing a coveted semifinal spot. Afghanistan gunned down England by 8 runs in a nail-biting contest to knock Jos Buttler's side from the Champions Trophy 2025. Now the Hashmatullah Shahidi's brigade have a tough task ahead as they will face mighty Australia in their last league-stage match which will decide the first semifinalist from the Group B.
Meanwhile, right ahead of the all-important match, Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi displayed a dismissive attitude when questioned about Glenn Maxwell's historic double-century against his team during the 2023 World Cup. Shahidi made his intentions clear and said that Maxwell's extraordinary innings was now 'part of history' and that Afghanistan's focus was not solely on one individual player. He asserted that the team's preparation was geared towards facing the 'entire Australian team', rather than fixating on a single past performance.
For the unversed, Maxwell's record-breaking knock of 201 off 128 balls, had rescued Australia from a precarious 91/7 while chasing 292, ultimately propelling them towards the World Cup semi-finals and their eventual title win. The upcoming Champions Trophy match between Afghanistan and Australia carries similar high stakes, with the league stage encounter at the Gaddafi Stadium effectively functioning as a virtual quarter-final.
“You think we will come only to play with Maxwell? Do you think it will be like that? We have planned for the entire Australian team, and I know that he (Maxwell) played really well in the 2023 World Cup, but that’s part of history," Shahidi said at the pre-match press conference.
“After that, we beat them in T20 World Cup, and we think about all (the entire) opposition team. We are not coming to the ground with plan for individual players. We will try our best to come with the planning, and we are not playing only Maxwell – we are playing Australia," he added.
Afghanistan's journey in the Champions Trophy has been a mixed bag as they got off to a shaky start following a defeat against South Africa. However, they picked themselves at the right time and made a stunning comeback with a thrilling eight-run win over England at the Gaddafi Stadium. Similarly, Australia secured a win against England, albeit by five wickets, but their match against South Africa was abandoned due to inclement weather.
Afghanistan now faces a golden opportunity to advance to the semi-finals in their inaugural Champions Trophy appearance. They will be playing against an Australian side who are without their key players in the tournament owing to injury, missing their entire first-choice pace attack. Now Afghanistan will look to capitalise on Australia's depleted bowling resources.