Former Pakistan captain, Younis Khan has been roped in by Afghanistan as a mentor for the upcoming Champions Trophy 2025. Previously, he worked with the Afghanistan team in 2022 at a 15-day training camp in Abu Dhabi with an expanded squad of 25.
The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) released a statement about Younis joining the team for a conditioning training camp before the event. The Champions Trophy 2025 is scheduled to begin on February 19 in Karachi. According to the statement, Younis will remain with the team until the end of the event.
This is the third such instance when the Afghanistan team has roped in a mentor from the host country right before the event. For the 2023 World Cup in India, they appointed Ajay Jadeja as a mentor to help their team perform well. In the 2024 T20 World Cup, they chose to work with Dwayne Bravo as a bowling consultant in the West Indies and USA.
Here is what ACB chief Naseeb Khan said about the appointment of Younis Khan.
“Since the Champions Trophy is being held in Pakistan, it was required to assign a talented and experienced player as mentor from the hosting country. We already had efficient experience with hosting countries’ mentors in ODI World Cup 2023 and T20I World Cup 2024.”
“Observing the conditions, therefore, we have appointed Younis Khan as mentor for our national team for the upcoming mega event and wish him best of the luck in his crucial assignment.”
Younis is an experienced player in the international field. He retired from cricket in 2017 with the experience of 118 Tests, 265 ODIs, and 25 T20Is. After closing his career as a player, he took to coaching. He was also involved with Pakistan’s senior men’s team in 2021.