Younis Khan to mentor Afghanistan for ICC Champions Trophy 2025
What's the story
Former Pakistan cricket team captain, Younis Khan, has been appointed as the mentor of the Afghanistan team for the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy 2025.
The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) made the announcement.
The board confirmed that Khan will be joining the team in Pakistan for a conditioning camp before this prestigious tournament.
Here are the details.
Prior engagement
Khan's previous experience with Afghanistan team
This isn't Khan's first association with the Afghanistan team. In 2022, he attended a 15-day training camp in Abu Dhabi, where he trained an enlarged squad of 25 players.
The ACB has said that Khan will stay with the team for the entire duration of the Champions Trophy competition, which starts on February 19 in Karachi.
Mentorship trend
ACB's strategy of appointing mentors from host countries
The appointment of Khan also continues ACB's trend of picking mentors from the host country for major tournaments.
Earlier, they had Ajay Jadeja as mentor for the 2023 ODI World Cup in India and Dwayne Bravo as bowling consultant for the 2024 T20 World Cup in West Indies and USA.
The strategy has worked wonders, with Afghanistan finishing sixth in the ODI World Cup and reaching semi-finals in T20 World Cup.
Official statement
ACB CEO comments on Khan's appointment
ACB CEO Naseeb Khan, commenting on Younis's appointment, said since the Champions Trophy is being held in Pakistan, it was imperative to have a talented and experienced player as mentor from the hosting country.
He added, "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 luck in his crucial assignment."
Tournament details
Afghanistan's group and Khan's coaching experience
In the Champions Trophy, Afghanistan will be placed in Group B with Australia, England, and South Africa.
The tournament is mostly scheduled to be held in Pakistan, with only India games being played in Dubai.
Khan, who retired from international cricket in 2017 after playing 118 Tests, 265 ODIs and 25 T20Is for Pakistan, moved to coaching after retirement.
He served as batting coach for the Pakistan senior men's team briefly in 2021.