Afghanistan will be facing reigning world champions Australia in the 10th game of the ongoing ICC Champions Trophy 2025. The game is scheduled to be played on Friday (February 28) at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.
Afghanistan are coming into this game after a historic win over England earlier this week. The Hashmatullah Shahidi-led side beat England by 8 runs to power Afghanistan to their first-ever win in the Champions Trophy.
The win has put them back in contention for a semifinal spot. The game against Australia is a virtual semifinal for Afghanistan as a win will take them to the semifinal. On the other hand, a defeat will dump Afghanistan out of the tournament.
So, as Afghanistan look to register another famous win, we are taking a look at the Afghanistan Playing 11 for the AFG vs AUS game.
Afghanistan Playing 11 vs Australia – ICC Champions Trophy 2025, Match 10:
Openers: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran
Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran are set to be the openers in Afghanistan Playing 11 for the upcoming game against Australia. With the upcoming game a do-or-die one for Afghanistan, the onus will be on their reliable openers to give the team a good start with the bat.
Gurbaz is yet to fire in the tournament and would be itching to roar back to form in the upcoming game against Australia. On the other hand, Zadran is coming into this game after a historic 177-run knock against England. He will be eyeing another impactful outing with the bat.
Middle-order batsmen and allrounders: Sediqullah Atal, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib
For the second game in a row, Sediqullah Atal failed to fire. The right-handed batsman was out for just 4 runs against England but is still expected to retain his spot in the Afghanistan Playing 11. He will be eyeing a better display with the bat in the do-or-die clash against Australia.
Rahmat Shah did not have the best of outings against England. After scoring 90 runs in the first game against South Africa, he was out for just 4 runs against England and will be looking to make amends in the forthcoming contest.
Captain Hashmatullah Shahidi played a crucial knock of 40 runs against England. With Afghanistan now just one win away from qualifying for the semifinals, their captain would be keen to lead the team from the front and score big against Australia.
Azmatullah Omarzai was one of the stars of Afghanistan’s win over England. With the bat, he played a crucial knock, smashing 41 runs off just 31 balls with the help of four and three sixes. He then went on to run riot with the ball, taking 5 wickets to guide Afghanistan to a historic win.
Mohammad Nabi once again impressed with both bat and ball. The veteran allrounder scored 40 runs and picked up 2 wickets. Gulbadin Naib also picked up one wicket to play an important role in the win.
Bowlers: Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi
With Azmatullah Omarzai and Gulbadin Naib as the other fast-bowling options in the Afghanistan Playing 11, the team management is likely to have just one specialist pacer in the lineup. Fazalhaq Farooqi will be the lead pacer in the Afghanistan Playing 11.
On the other hand, Rashid Khan and Noor Ahmad will be the two spinners with Mohammad Nabi being the other spin bowling option. Both Farooqi and Rashid picked up 1 wicket in the previous game while Noor went wicketless.
