Afghanistan Cricket Team will compete in the Champions Trophy 2025 for the first time after missing out on the event in 2017.
Afghanistan continues to give millions of people in their home country reason to rejoice as they qualified for the first time for the Champions Trophy 2025, which will be held in Pakistan. Afghanistan’s participation in the main event was guaranteed following Sri Lanka’s defeat to Bangladesh in the ICC Cricket World Cup yesterday. The two Asian teams have now joined England and the Netherlands in being knocked out of the World Cup.
Only eight teams will be able to compete for the Champions Trophy. As the host country, Pakistan will automatically qualify. In addition to Pakistan and Afghanistan, India, South Africa, New Zealand, and Australia have reserved a spot for the CT 2025 event. Two slots for the main event have still to be secured.
England, the Netherlands, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh are still in the running for CT. The CT 2025 will be played by the top eight teams in the World Cup points system.
How did the Afghanistan Cricket Team earn a place in the Champions Trophy?
Afghanistan has undoubtedly been a World Cup surprise thus far. The Hashmatullah Shahidi-led team had only won one game during the 2015 and 2019 World Cups, when they entered the showpiece tournament. However, in the World Cup, Afghanistan defeated England, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and the Netherlands, giving them optimism of reaching the World Cup semi-finals.
They still have two games remaining against Australia and South Africa. Afghanistan must win both of these games to get to the semifinals. While the endeavour is challenging, it is not impossible, since the Afghans have sufficient weapons and courage.
