New Delhi: Afghanistan announced on Wednesday that they have roped in former Pakistan captain Younis Khan as mentor for the Champions Trophy that will begin on February 19.
Khan will join the Afghan team in Pakistan, where the tournament will be held, and will stay throughout the course of the ICC event.
The 47-year-old Khan represented Pakistan in 118 Tests, 265 ODIs and 25 T20Is before retiring in 2017 before taking up coaching roles with his country’s national team.
But he quit shortly after being appointed as the batting coach in 2021 over differences with the Pakistan Cricket Board.
Khan had earlier worked with the Afghanistan team at a training camp in Abu Dhabi in 2022. Afghanistan are clubbed in in Group B along with England, Australia and South Africa.
They begin their campaign against South Africa at Karachi on February 21, making it their third straight major ICC event where they have hired local expertise to make a mark.
Eye on local help
They had sought the services of Ajay Jadeja for the 2023 ODI World Cup in India and Dwayne Bravo as bowling consultant for the 2024 T20 World Cup in the West Indies and USA.
“Since the Champions Trophy is being held in Pakistan, it was required to assign a talented and experienced player as mentor from the hosting country,” the ACB’s chief executive Naseeb Khan said.
Afghanistan were sixth at the ODI World Cup last year, beating England, Pakistan and Sri Lanka to qualify for the Champions Trophy. They followed it up with a semi-final spot at the T20 World Cup last year.
Meanwhile, over 160 British politicians have urged England to decline playing against Afghanistan, writing to the England and Wales Cricket Board to protest against the Taliban regime’s assault on women’s rights.
Younis Khan had earlier worked with the Afghanistan team at a training camp in Abu Dhabi in 2022. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
