Champions Trophy 2025: Afghanistan vs Australia – Match Preview

After stunning England by eight runs, Afghanistan will lock horns against Australia in the 10th match of the ongoing Champions Trophy at the Gadaffi Stadium, Lahore on Friday. Afghanistan had given a run for their money to Australia in the 2023 ODI World Cup but Glenn Maxwell played an epic knock of 201 runs to rescue his team out of the rut.

We look at the current form, head-to-head, players to look out for, and squads of both teams in our match preview.

Current form of Afghanistan: W L W W NR

Ibrahim Zadran scored a fantastic knock of 177 runs against England whereas Azmatullah Omarzai delivered with both bat and ball as he scored 41 (31) and also bagged a five-wicket haul. Afghanistan have shown that they can consistently trouble the big teams.

Current form of Australia: NR W L L L

Australia came up with a dominant performance against England in their opening match but their last game against South Africa was washed out due to rain. This will be a must-win contest for Steve Smith’s team in order to qualify for the semifinals.

Head to Head: Matches: 4, Won by Australia: 4, Won by Afghanistan: 0.

Players to watch out for: Steve Smith, Alex Carey, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Travis Head, Glenn Maxwell, and Adam Zampa will hold the key for Australia.

Ibrahim Zadran, Rashid Khan, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Fazalhaq Farooqi, and Azmatullah Omarzai will hold the key for Afghanistan.

Afghanistan: Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Sediqullah Atal, Rahmat Shah, Ikram Alikhil, Gulbadin Naib, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Nangyal Kharoti, Noor Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Farid Malik, Naveed Zadran.

Australia: Steve Smith (c), Sean Abbott, Alex Carey, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Aaron Hardie, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Spencer Johnson, Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Tanveer Sangha, Matthew Short, Adam Zampa.