‘They have just 1 quality pacer?’- Aakash Chopra analyses Afghanistan’s weaknesses ahead of Champions Trophy 2025

Former Indian opener-turned-commentator Aakash Chopra has raised serious concerns about Afghanistan’s roster as they prepare for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, citing a dearth of good fast bowlers in particular. Due to their over-reliance on spinners and dearth of offensive batsmen, the team may face difficulties in the forthcoming tournament.

Afghanistan, South Africa, England, and Australia are all in Group B. Considering these teams’ strength, a well-rounded bowling attack will be crucial. Chopra thinks Afghanistan’s fast-bowling department is shallow, though, which could hurt its performance.

“Their only good pacer is Fazalhaq Farooqi. Although Azmatullah Omarzai and Fareed Ahmad are also present, their calibre is not the same. They only have a single, good pacer who can handle the death. He stated on his YouTube channel, “They’ll be among the teams that will bowl spin right up until the very end.”

Naveed Zadran, Farooqi, and Fareed Ahmad are the key seamers for the Hashmatullah Shahidi-led team. Although Farooqi has been a reliable player in ODIs, taking 50 wickets at an economy rate of 5.77, the other pacers are inexperienced and don’t consistently produce. Chopra thinks the team’s pace constraints may force them to rely largely on spin, even in the last overs.

They have other choices, but they sometimes overlook pacer. It should be manageable because all of their games are in Pakistan. One fast bowler, Azmatullah Omarzai, and a little Gulbadin Naib may be included in Afghanistan’s XI, he added. It’s interesting that Pakistan has only retained one spinner in their team.

The batting is good, but there weren’t many aggressive hitters in the game: Aakash Chopra

The greatest strength of Afghanistan has been their spin attack, which includes Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, and Muhammad Nabi. However, their deficiency in quality pacers may be a drawback in situations where seamers are crucial.

Chopra also criticised their batting lineup, stating that, with the exception of Rahmanullah Gurbaz, the club does not have any aggressive hitters who can quicken the pace of scoring in games with a high scoring total.

Rahmanullah Gurbaz was the only attacking batsman you saw, although the batting is good. Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, and Hashmatullah Shahidi are all moving slowly. Each bats at the same speed. Their number of fast-scoring hitters is limited. Their batting so becomes a little stuck in a game that is between 325 and 350 runs. Sometimes the pitch is so flat that you get taken for runs even if you have good spin or bowling.

So what are you going to do? The pitch may be like a cement one, and you get that a lot in Pakistan, so you then focus on your hitting. They occasionally struggle with batting in terms of top-level firepower,” he said.