Parthiv Patel picked Afghanistan because the darkish horse within the upcoming version of the Champions Trophy 2025. The Blue Tigers are going to make their debut within the prestigious world occasion which begins on February 19 in Karachi.
Afghanistan are positioned in Group B alongside Australia, South Africa, and England. The Asian facet goes to kick-start their marketing campaign on February 21, once they tackle inaugural champions South Africa on the Nationwide Stadium in Karachi.
Afghanistan have fared properly in ICC occasions of late. Within the ODI World Cup in 2023, they registered wins in opposition to defending champions England, and former champions Pakistan and Sri Lanka. They adopted it up with a stellar efficiency within the T20 World Cup final 12 months. Underneath Rashid Khan’s management, Afghanistan made it to the semifinals of a World Cup for the primary time.
Therefore, conserving their latest performances in thoughts, Patel picked them as a darkish horse for the upcoming occasion as he predicted his 4 semi-finalists. He additionally feels that Afghanistan will shock just a few groups within the match.
“There will be India, Pakistan, South Africa, and Australia simply given the report within the ICC trophies. However my darkish horse is Afghanistan. They have they’ve performed actually good cricket in 50-over format. It was simply that Glenn Maxwell’s innings in any other case I feel they had been proper there within the race to achieve semifinals. So you understand Afghanistan might are available in and shock all different groups,” mentioned Patel on Star Sports activities.
Kevin Pietersen predicts semi-finalists
England legend Kevin Pietersen additionally named his 4 semi-finalists for the Champions Trophy. With Mitchell Starc pulling out of the match and a number of other massive names lacking resulting from accidents, Pietersen did not preserve Australia amongst his picks.
Additionally Learn: Dhoni’s calmness was his energy, Kohli’s depth modified Indian cricket: Shikhar Dhawan
“I imply, that is so arduous. It truly is. However with Mitchell Starc pulling out right now, I am gonna say India, Pakistan, South Africa, and New Zealand,” mentioned Pietersen.
Get each cricket updates! Observe Us: