Daijiworld Media Network- New Delhi
New Delhi, Feb 28: With a spot in the Champions Trophy 2025 semi-finals on the line, Afghanistan is gearing up to face Australia in a crucial clash on Friday. Given their impressive performances in recent global tournaments, Afghanistan is no longer the underdog—a fact that coach Jonathan Trott believes will keep Australia on high alert.
Afghanistan reinforced its reputation as a formidable force in limited-overs cricket by defeating England by eight runs in a nail-biting encounter. Their consistency has been evident since the 2023 ODI World Cup, where they stunned England, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, finishing sixth in the standings. They followed that up with a T20 World Cup semi-final appearance, which included a historic win over Australia.
"Afghanistan Will Never Be Taken Lightly Again"
Trott, a former England cricketer, emphasized that Afghanistan is no longer an easy fixture in international cricket.
“Since I’ve been coach, we’ve played Australia three times and we’ve been competitive in each match. The T20 World Cup win against them was huge. Afghanistan is never going to be taken lightly again,” Trott asserted.
He added that the team is fully prepared for the challenge and expects to win every game.
"We Have Planned for the Whole Australian Team, Not Just Maxwell"
Afghanistan’s captain, Hashmatullah Shahidi, dismissed suggestions that the team is solely focusing on Glenn Maxwell, whose iconic innings in the 2023 ODI World Cup helped Australia pull off a miraculous chase against them.
"You think we are here just to play against Maxwell? No, we have planned for the entire Australian team," Shahidi stated confidently.
While Maxwell played a match-winning knock in their last ODI World Cup meeting, Afghanistan settled the score in the T20 World Cup, defeating Australia in a commanding performance.
"We are not coming into this game planning for individual players. Our focus will be on executing our strategies and keeping things simple," Shahidi added.
With Afghanistan’s growing stature in world cricket and their recent track record against top teams, Friday’s clash promises to be a fiercely contested battle.