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AFG vs SA Dream11 Prediction: 3 Top Captain Or Vice-Captain Choices For Match 3 Of Champions Trophy 2025

Kaushik Kashyap

Afghanistan will take on South Africa. [Source -  ACB/ICC/X.com]Afghanistan will take on South Africa. [Source -  ACB/ICC/X.com]

Afghanistan are all set to take the field in their first ever Champions Trophy match as they are coming up against South Africa in their tournament opener on February 21. The much awaited contest will be played at the National Bank Stadium in Karachi.

After finishing in the top eight of the 2023 ODI World Cup in India Afghanistan added another feather of achievement as their rapid growth in the world of cricket has been nothing less than breathtaking.

Notably, since their first ODI clash against South Africa in the 2019 World Cup, both of these countries have played each other 5 times in this format. Having said that, South Africa have the upper hand in this regard as they have won three of the five games with Afghanistan recently catching up with two wins.

Looking at the form, Afghanistan have won four of the five bilateral ODI series they have played since the 2023 World Cup, including one against the Proteas. Meanwhile, Temba Bavuma and co, who were in action in the Tri-Nation series recently, have managed only one win out of the five series they played in the same period.

Top 3 Captain and Vice-Captain Choices for AFG vs SA

The surface at the National Bank Stadium in Karachi is expected to be a balanced one for both batters and bowlers. On what will be a hot and dry day in Karachi, the seamers have to earn their wicket with batters enjoying their batting during the initial phases.

However, as the game progresses, spinners might come into play, getting a fair amount of turn and grip from the surface, making batters do some heavy lifting during the middle overs. Considering the past few games, the team winning the toss should field first as batting second should prevail, but not without a fight.

3. Rahmanullah Gurbaz

Rahmanullah Gurbaz will be a high-risk high-reward pick for the fantasy XIs as the keeper-batter is known for his explosive batting at the start of the innings and his ability to turn the game on its head whenever it's his day.

Looking at his recent numbers, Gurbaz scored a magnificent century and an 89 in the last two games against the Proteas. Overall, he has a total of 531 runs at an average of 48.27, including two 50s and three centuries in ODIs since 2024.

2. Heinrich Klaasen

Heinrich Klaasen will definitely be one of the first picks while making the fantasy XIs ahead of this game. The right-hander has been in unstoppable form in limited-overs cricket for some time. In the recent Tri-Nation series’ match against Pakistan last week, scored a magnificent 87 off 56 and gave a little glimpse of what he can do in the Champions Trophy.

Despite playing just four ODIs since 2024, Klaasen leads the scoring chart for South Africa during this period, scoring 351 runs at a strike-rate of 130, including half-centuries in all four innings.

1. Rashid Khan

Rashid Khan is another terrific fantasy pick ahead of this game as the star all-rounder can contribute with both bat and ball. Rashid had a tremendous 2024 in ODI cricket as the leg-spinner scalped a total of 15 wickets in 6 innings at an average of 12.5.

Additionally, against South Africa, Rashid tops in the list of highest wicket-takers in the ODI fixtures between these two sides. In the most recent outing against them, Rashid finished the series as highest wicket-taker with 7 wickets in just 2 games.