AFG vs ENG (Source: @ACBofficials/x)
The ICC Champions Trophy 2025 match between England and Afghanistan is all set to begin, as revealed during the toss Hashmatullah Shahidi led side will bat first at the Gadaffi Stadium in Lahore. Both the teams face must-win situations in their Champions Trophy Group B match after losing their opening games.
England made one change, with Jamie Overton replacing the injured Brydon Carse in the team. Carse has been ruled out of the Champions Trophy 2025 due to a toe injury, and young leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed was added as his replacement. On the other hand, Afghanistan remain unchanged from their previous game.
ENG vs AFG: Playing XIs
England Playing XI : Ben Duckett, Philip Salt (wk), Jamie Smith, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jos Buttler (c), Liam Livingstone, Jamie Overton, Mark Wood, Adil Rashid, Jofra Archer
Afghanistan Playing XI : Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Sediqullah Atal, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi
ENG vs AFG: Captain's Thoughts
Jos Buttler (England Captain): "Yeah, okay. Obviously, the dew came in. Hopefully, it skids off the surface later in the night. We would have batted first as well. It looks a good wicket. We want to perform well overall to come out on top today. One change for us. Brydon Carse is out with an injury and Jamie Overton comes in. The individual skills are always high. The expectations are high from everyone. The fast bowlers will be charging in today."
Hashmatullah Shahidi (Afghanistan Captain): "We want to bat first. The wicket looks good. Hopefully, we get some spin in the second innings, it is a bit slow and that is what happened in the last game. Some time dew is coming, some time it isn't. In the second innings, this pitch becomes a little slow and hopefully, dew doesn't come and affect our spinners. We were not bowling in good areas, that is what we discussed in the team meeting. We are going with the same team."
