Mohammad Nabi to retire from ODIs after 2025 Champions Trophy
Afghanistan's all-rounder Mohammad Nabi has announced that he will retire from One Day Internationals (ODIs) following the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy. He made the announcement while accepting his Player-of-the-Series award after Afghanistan's 2-1 series win over Bangladesh in the UAE. "In my mind, from the last World Cup, I was retired but then we qualified for the Champions Trophy and I felt if I could play that, it would be great," Nabi said.
Nabi's communication with ACB and future plans
Nabi has informed the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) about his retirement decision. Although he will be retiring from ODIs, he intends to continue playing in T20Is. This announcement comes after a stellar career in the ODI format, where Nabi has represented Afghanistan 167 times since their first match against Scotland in 2009.
Nabi's impressive ODI career and rankings
Nabi is now Afghanistan's most experienced ODI player and sits atop ICC's ODI all-rounder rankings. His batting skills have produced 3,600 runs, including 17 half-centuries and two centuries. As an off-spinner, he has snapped up 172 wickets at an average of 32.47, making him the second-highest wicket-taker for Afghanistan in ODIs.
Afghanistan's maiden appearance in Champions Trophy
Notably, Afghanistan will be playing the prestigious Champions Trophy for the first time. The team qualified for the same after finishing sixth at the 2023 ICC ODI World Cup in India. The Champions Trophy will see the top seven teams from the 2023 ODI World Cup, along with hosts Pakistan. This gives Nabi one last chance to represent his country in ODIs before he retires from the format.
