Younis named Afghanistan mentor for Champions Trophy

KABUL: The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) on Wednesday appointed former Pakistan captain Younis Khan as the mentor for the national team for the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy.

According to an ACB media release, the former batter will accompany Afghanistan during their conditioning and preparation camp in Pakistan, offering his mentorship services until the conclusion of the eight-nation ICC event.

The 47-year-old Younis amassed 10,099 runs — a Pakistan record — at a healthy average of over 52 in 118 Tests. 7,249 runs in 265 ODIs and 442 runs in 25 T20 Internationals.

The right-hander scored the most Test centuries (34) for his country while his career-best 313 against Sri Lanka in a 2009 Test at Karachi lifted him to the number one position in the ICC rankings.

Naseeb Khan, the chief executive of the ACB, said that ACB was pleased to sign a contract with Younis as interim mentor of the national team for the Champions Trophy which will be staged from Feb 19 to March 9.

“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. We already had efficient experience with hosting countries’ mentors in the 2023 ODI World Cup and the 2024 T20 World Cup. Observing the conditions, therefore, we have appointed Younis Khan as mentor for our national team for the upcoming mega event and wish him best of the luck in his crucial assignment,” Naseeb was quoted in a release from ACB as saying.

The Champions Trophy is returning after more than seven years. The event will comprise 15 matches in the 50-over format and will be held across Pakistan and Dubai. The previous edition finalists, India and Pakistan, are scheduled to face on Feb 23 in Dubai.

Rawalpindi, Lahore and Karachi will serve as the three venues for the event. Each venue will stage three group matches with Lahore hosting the second semi-final.

Lahore is set to host the final on March 9 unless India qualify, in which case the final will be played in Dubai. Both the semi-finals and the final will have reserve days.

Pakistan will face New Zealand in the Group ‘A’ opener in Karachi on Feb 19.

The Dubai leg will begin the next day, with India taking on Bangladesh. Afghanistan launch their campaign at the Champions Trophy on Feb 21 against South Africa in Karachi.

Published in Dawn, January 9th, 2025