Mohammad Nabi hints at U-turn on ODI retirement

Afghanistan’s experienced all-rounder Mohammad Nabi on Monday, hinted at reconsidering his decision to retire from ODIs after the upcoming ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025 and instead shared his ‘dream’ to play alongside his son Hassan Eisakhil.

Nabi, who announced in November last year that he would conclude his ODI career after the eight-team tournament, told the International Cricket Council (ICC) in an interview that the upcoming matches may not be his last.

The 40-year-old instead shared his plans to limit his appearances in the format to prolong his career as much as that he gets to fulfil his dream of playing with his son Eisakhil, an 18-year-old batter, who represented Afghanistan at the Under-19 World Cup last year.

"These might not be my last ODIs, I will probably play fewer ODIs and give chances to the youngsters to build experience," Nabi told the ICC.

"I've discussed with the senior players and in the high-level games, maybe or maybe not, we'll see. It will depend on my fitness.

"It's my dream. Hopefully we can do it. He is doing very well … he is a hard worker and I'm also pushing him to do work.

"I want him to make his own goals, if you want to get to be a high-level cricketer, you have to work hard. It's not enough to make 50 or 60, you have to score 100-plus. He's listening and pushing all the time. When he can talk to me, I try to give him advice to give him confidence for the game."

Afghanistan, who will be making their first appearance at the Champions Trophy, are drawn in Group B alongside former champions Australia, England and South Africa.

They will begin their Champions Trophy 2025 campaign against South Africa on February 21 at the National Bank Stadium in Karachi before travelling to Lahore, where they will take on England and Australia on February 26 and 28, respectively.

Afghanistan squad for Champions Trophy 2025

Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Rahmat Shah (vc), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ikram Alikhil (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Sediqullah Atal, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan, AM Ghazanfar, Noor Ahmad, Fazal Haq Farooqi, Naveed Zadran and Farid Ahmad Malik.