The Afghanistan captain, Hashmatullah Shahidi, steadfastly steered clear of the controversy surrounding Glenn Maxwell’s historic double century prior to their eagerly awaited Champions Trophy 2025 matchup with Australia.
On February 28, Afghanistan and Australia will face off in a virtual quarterfinal at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. The identical scenario occurred two years ago when Australia was rescued from 91/7 in a chase of 292 by Glenn Maxwell’s flawless and iconic knock, which had single-handedly defeated Afghanistan in a semi-final place. However, according to Shahidi, his crew is now prepared for their upcoming task.
Do you believe that our sole purpose for being here is to play Maxwell? Do you believe that’s how it will be? During the pre-game news conference, Shahidi retaliated against a reporter. “We’ve trained for the whole Australian squad. I am aware that he performed admirably during the 2023 World Cup, but that is already in the past.
Afghanistan has already demonstrated their ability to defeat Australia, most notably by shocking the five-time champions in the 2024 T20 World Cup. According to Shahidi, his team prioritizes coordinated preparation than focusing solely on individual players.
In the T20 World Cup, we defeated them following Maxwell’s knock. We prepare for the entire opponent, not just specific players. In addition to Maxwell, we are also playing against Australia,” he said.
Afghanistan has recovered from a crushing defeat to South Africa and is coming into this crucial match with a lot of energy following an exciting eight-run victory over England. At the same time, Australia overcame England by five wickets, but the rains caused their match against South Africa to be canceled.
Given that Australia will be without their complete first-choice pace attack, Hashmatullah Shahidi and his team have a fantastic chance to secure a semi-final berth in their inaugural Champions Trophy campaign.
“I believe it will be a good cricket match. Our goal is to avoid overanalyzing the semi-final and to keep things straightforward. We will give it our all and stay true to our core values,” Hashmatullah Shahidi promised.
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