Younis Khan appointed Afghanistan mentor for CT 2025

Former Pakistan captain Younis Khan has been appointed as the mentor for the Afghanistan team for the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy 2025.

The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) confirmed the development, stating that Younis will join the team before the tournament, which is scheduled to take place in Pakistan and Dubai from February 19 to March 9.

"ACB has assigned former experienced top-order Pakistani player Younis Khan as a mentor for the Champions Trophy 2025. He [Younis] will join the team before the event starts in Pakistan," said ACB spokesman Sayeed Naseem Sadat.

Younis, a veteran of 118 Tests with 10,099 runs, including a career-best 313, is regarded as one of Pakistan's finest cricketers. He also led Pakistan to its first-ever T20 World Cup victory in 2009.

Post-retirement, the 47-year-old transitioned into coaching, serving briefly as Pakistan's batting coach and taking up roles with franchises such as Peshawar Zalmi in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) and Bangla Tigers in the Abu Dhabi T10 League.

It is pertinent to mention that the upcoming Champions Trophy is slated to take place in Pakistan and Dubai from February 19 to March 9.

The countdown for the highly anticipated ICC Champions Trophy 2025 has begun, with the deadline for submitting preliminary squads set for January 12. 

Teams are required to finalise their initial squads by midnight on February 11, as the official tournament period begins on February 12.

The eight participating teams will have the opportunity to make changes to their preliminary squads without ICC approval until February 11. 

Notably, the England cricket team already announced its final squad for the tournament, setting the stage for an exciting contest.

The teams are divided into two groups. Group A consists of Pakistan, India, New Zealand, and Bangladesh, while Group B features Afghanistan, South Africa, England, and Australia.

Hosts Pakistan will open the tournament against New Zealand on February 19 in Karachi. 

The highly anticipated showdown between arch-rivals Pakistan and India is set for February 23 in Dubai.

England Squad for ICC Men’s Champions Trophy: Jos Buttler (c), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Ben Duckett, Jamie Overton, Jamie Smith, Liam Livingstone, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Saqib Mahmood, Phil Salt, Mark Wood