Former Pakistan batsman and legend Younis Khan has been appointed as Afghanistan’s mentor for the Champions Trophy 2025, the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) announced. Younis, who retired as a player in 2017, had previously taken up a coaching role in 2022 during a brief period in which he mentored Pakistan’s batting unit.

The ACB said Younis will remain with the team until the end of the tournament and will join their training camp in Karachi.

“Since the Champions Trophy is being held in Pakistan, it was necessary to assign a talented and experienced player as a mentor for the host country. We already had efficient experience with host country mentors in ODI World Cup 2023 and T20I World Cup 2024,” ACB CEO Naseeb Khan said in a statement.

Younis’ appointment is similar to the ACB’s previous recruitment of former cricketers. They had sought the services of Dwayne Bravo as a bowling consultant for the 2024 T20 World Cup, which turned out to be a masterstroke as they reached the semi-finals of the tournament for the first time.

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Afghanistan looks in stellar shape ahead of the 2025 Champions Trophy

In the build-up to the tournament, Afghanistan have been in excellent form after winning all three format series against Zimbabwe, which followed a 2-1 ODI series win over Bangladesh.

Afghanistan is in Group B of the Champions Trophy along with Australia, England and South Africa. They open their campaign against South Africa in a day-night match in Karachi.

Afghanistan is yet to announce its 15-player squad for the tournament. Hashmatullah Shahidi is most likely to captain the team after consecutive series wins. So far, England is the only team that has called up a squad for the Champions Trophy

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