3 Players That Need To Fire If Rashid Khan Gets Injured In Champions Trophy 2025

Rashid Khan will be crucial for Afghanistan (Source:@HStvSports/X.com)

Rashid Khan is a stalwart of Afghanistan cricket and has played a big role in putting his country on the cricketing map. He is a world-class performer who has the ability to win games for his side in varied conditions, and would be a key player for Afghanistan in their maiden Champions Trophy stint.

He is not the captain of the side, but is the leader in the group and along with his bowling, his presence and batting skills are invaluable assets for Afghanistan. However, the star cricketer has been battling some injuries in the recent past, and has undergone back surgery. He also suffered from a hamstring injury in 2024 which hampered his progress and though he it fit now, the injury-prone nature might haunt him again.

Thus, incase Rashid Khan gets injured, and ruled out of Champions Trophy 2025, here are the three players who need to step up.

3. Noor Ahmad

The left-arm wrist spinner is a genuine wicket-taker and though he is very young, he has now played cricket across the globe for various franchises. He has the ability to generate turn on flat decks and that skill would be crucial in the absence of Rashid Khan on batting decks in Pakistan.

Noor Ahmad has so far played 10 ODIs for Afghanistan and has picked nine wickets while in 18 List A games, the spinner has 25 wickets. It shows that he has not played lot of ODI cricket, but in T20s, he has picked 150 wickets in 132 matches and has good record in first-class cricket too. Thus, if Rashid Khan is absent, Noor would have to step up in the 50-over format and the form he showed in SA20 recently where he bagged 13 wickets in 9 innings can also help his cause.

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2. Mohammad Nabi

The veteran has been the pillar of Afghanistan cricket for a long time now. His all-round skills has won his country lot of games and has the experience of delivering in big moments which would be more crucial if Rashid Khan gets injured. In 148 ODI innings, Nabi has 3618 runs at an average of 27.40 with two hundreds and 17 fifties. He can bat anywhere in the batting order and his role as a finisher without the batting cushion of Rashid Khan would be crucial.

On the bowling front, he needs to don the wicket-taking role again and guide the young spinners around him. He has 172 wickets in 170 matches which includes 4 four-wicket hauls and a fifer and it is essential that he uses all that experience and deliver consistently if Rashid is not there. Also, Nabi has the experience of playing in PSL which could help him in Champions Trophy and he would be crucial for Afghanistan in his last ODI tournament.

1. Allah Ghazanfar

The 18-year-old started his ODI career with a bang and has 21 wickets in 11 matches. He has two five-wicket hauls already and his mysterious nature which includes plethora of variations have made him very successful. He bowls stump-to-stump line and that accuracy would be crucial on flat decks in Pakistan and it is also something that has made Rashid Khan successful over the years.

Also, teams like Australia and England have never played against Allah Ghazanfar and they tend to struggle against spin as well, so the young Afghan can be effective against them. This novel nature and genuine wicket-taking ability makes him a hot asset in Champions Trophy and he would be become more important if Rashid Khan gets injured.

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