Afghanistan's promising 18-year-old right-arm spinner, AM Ghazanfar, has been ruled out of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 due to a serious back injury. Ghazanfar, who has impressed in his early ODI career, has suffered a fracture in his L4 vertebra.
The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) confirmed the news on Wednesday, revealing that Ghazanfar sustained the injury during Afghanistan's tour of Zimbabwe late last year. He will be sidelined for at least four months and will continue to receive treatment during this time.
Ghazanfar had made a strong start to his ODI career, taking 21 wickets in 11 matches. He also featured in the UAE's ILT20 league with MI Emirates in January, following the Zimbabwe tour. However, he struggled to make an impact, claiming just one wicket from 7.1 overs in three games at an economy rate of 9.48.
In Ghazanfar's absence, 20-year-old left-arm spinner Nangeyalia Kharote has been called up to the main squad. Kharote, who had been in the reserves, has played seven ODIs and six T20Is since his debut in March 2024. He last featured for Afghanistan in the ODI series against Bangladesh in Sharjah in November 2024, where he starred with figures of 3 for 28 in Afghanistan's victory in the second game.
Afghanistan still boasts a strong spin attack with the presence of Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmad, and Mohammad Nabi. However, they continue to miss out on Mujeeb Ur Rahman, who has been absent from the national team since the Zimbabwe tour. Mujeeb, who played the full SA20 season with Paarl Royals, has not featured for Afghanistan in ODIs since the 2023 World Cup and was not included in the original Champions Trophy squad. The ACB stated that Mujeeb will not play until he has fully recovered from his injury.
Afghanistan squad for ICC Champions Trophy: Hashmatullah Shahidi (captain), Ibrahim Zadran, Ikram Alikhil (wicket keeper), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wicket keeper), Sediqullah Atal, Rahmat Shah (vice-captain), Azmatullah Omarzai, Gulbadin Naib, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Fareeh Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Nangeyalia Kharote, Naveed Zadran, Noor Ahmad.
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