Ahead of their eagerly awaited Champions Trophy 2025 matchup with Australia, Afghanistan’s skipper, Hashmatullah Shahidi, steadfastly avoided the debate surrounding Glenn Maxwell’s historic double century.
Australia and Afghanistan will face off in a virtual quarterfinal at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on February 28. Australia was saved from 91/7 in a chase of 292 by Glenn Maxwell’s flawless and timeless knock, which had single-handedly overcome Afghanistan in a semi-final place two years prior. However, Shahidi stated that his group is now prepared for their upcoming task.
“You believe we’ve come here just to play Maxwell? Do you believe that will be the case? During the press conference before the game, Shahidi retaliated against a reporter. For the entire Australian team, we have prepared. He performed admirably in the 2023 World Cup, as I am aware, but that is already in the past.
Afghanistan’s ability to defeat Australia has already been demonstrated; most notably, they shocked the five-time champions in the 2024 T20 World Cup. Shahidi claims that rather of focusing only on individual players, his squad is concentrating on coordinated strategy.
“We defeated them in the T20 World Cup after Maxwell’s knock.
Instead of planning for specific players, we plan for the opposition as a whole. Additionally, we are playing against Australia, not only Maxwell,” he said.
After a heartbreaking defeat to South Africa, Afghanistan bounced back with an exciting eight-run victory over England to enter this crucial match with a lot of momentum. Australia defeated England by five wickets at the same time, but the rains caused their match against South Africa to be canceled.
Australia’s whole first-choice pace attack will be out, giving Shahidi and his team a fantastic chance to secure a semi-final position in their inaugural Champions Trophy campaign.
It should be a good cricket match, in my opinion. We’re trying not to overthink the semi-final and to keep things straightforward. We’ll stay true to our core values and do our best,” Shahidi promised.
India
