Former Pakistan Player Slams Younis Khan for Snubbing Them to Coach Afghanistan for Champions Trophy 2025

Afghanistan’s brilliant victory over England in the Champions Trophy 2025 has stirred some drama in the host nation. Pakistan are furious after Afghanistan appointed Younis Khan as their mentor.

“Younis Khan said no to Pakistan cricket to work with Afghanistan. There will be no financial benefits here”, said Rashid Latif on Pakistan’s TV show ‘Haarna Mana Hai’.

Pakistan lost the tournament opener against New Zealand by 60 runs and then faced a six-wicket defeat against arch-rivals India. Their final group-stage match against Bangladesh ended as a washout. The Mohammad Rizwan-led team became the first host nation in ICC Champions Trophy history to exit the tournament without a win. Pakistan are hosting their first multi-nation tournament after 29 years since the 1996 World Cup.

Rashid Latif accused Younis Khan

Previously mentored by Ajay Jadeja and Dwayne Bravo, Afghanistan appointed legendary Pakistan batter Younis as their mentor ahead of the ICC event. Former Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter Rashid Latif stated that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) approached Younis to mentor Pakistan but he discarded the offer citing financial issues.

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Why Younis Khan was appointed by Afghanistan?

Chief executive of Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB), Naseeb Khan, stressed to the Hindustan Times how appointing mentors from the hosting country of tournaments has helped them previously.

“Since the Champions Trophy is being held in Pakistan, it was required to assign a talented and experienced player as a mentor from the hosting country. We already had efficient experience with hosting countries’ mentors in ODI World Cup 2023 and T20I World Cup 2024”, stated Naseeb.

The statement by the ACB’s chief executive has been proven true by the Afghanistan team. They made a strong comeback following their loss to South Africa. Ibrahim Zadran’s crucial 177 (146) helped them to reach 325/7. Azmatullah Omarzai played a cameo of 41 (31) along with a five-wicket haul to stay alive in the tournament.

Furthermore, Afghanistan’s eight-run victory over England knocked Jos Buttler’s team out of the Champions Trophy.

As the match between Australia and South Africa got washed out, Afghanistan’s ongoing clash against Australia is a virtual qualifier of Group B for the semi-finals.

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