Shoaib Akhtar Reveals Chat With Afghan Player: Legendary former Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar has shared a chat he had with Afghanistan Cricket Team all-rounder Gulbadin Naib following the Afghans’ impressive win over England in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.
Afghanistan vs. England was a Group B match in CT 2025 at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium. Having lost their first matches, both teams had to win this game to stay alive in the competition. Afghanistan won the toss and decided to bat first on a pitch well-suited for ODI cricket. Overall, the pitch is batting-friendly but also has a little something for bowlers.
While batting first, the Hashmatullah Shahidi-led team put up a solid total of 325, despite falling to 37/3 in the powerplay. This was on the back of a brilliant 177 by opener Ibrahim Zadran, whose massive inning was the highest individual score not only in the history of the Champions Trophy but also in the history of the Afghanistan Cricket Team in ODI and across all formats.
In response, the Three Lions seemed to be cruising with Joe Root and Jos Buttler looking good on the crease and about 150 runs left to chase in the final 20 overs, but a splendid bowling comeback, on the back of a fine fifer from all-rounder Azmatullah Omarzai, ensured that the Asian side won the game by eight runs in the end.
Afghanistan’s win was celebrated across the cricketing world, including in India, where the team has a huge fan following. A big reason for such support for the Afghanistan team is their underdog status, despite their brilliant performances in recent ICC tournaments.
Shoaib Akhtar Reveals Chat With Afghan Player
Someone who also celebrated this win was former Pakistani pacer Shoaib Akhtar. Following the win, the Rawalpindi Express revealed a chat he had with Afghanistan player Gulbadin Naib and how he told the all-rounder to “defeat England.” Akhtar took to X and wrote,
“Congratulations, Afghanistan, very happy for you! I remember telling Gulbadin ‘please defeat England.’ He said, ‘don’t worry brother, we will not spare them.’ I told him you shouldn’t spare Australia either. I was in Dubai when I told Gulbadin that you should win at any cost.”
The fastest recorded pacer ever then added a message where he further congratulated the Afghans, writing,
“You have made Afghanistan very proud today. Now you have the maturity and you know how to play cricket. You have slayed a big team. Enjoy this day, but do not forget that you are going to play beyond the semi-final.”
While Naib got to bowl only two overs in yesterday’s match, Huge took the crucial wicket of Liam Livingstone.
With a win and a loss in two games so far, the calculations for Afghanistan are clear. If they defeat Australia in their final group match, they are through to the semi-finals of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.
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