"Humdinger, what a game" - Aakash Chopra says winner of AFG vs SA 2025 Champions Trophy clash will qualify for the semis
Former India player Aakash Chopra is eager to watch the 2025 Champions Trophy clash between Afghanistan and South Africa. He opined that the winner of the game will qualify for the semi-finals.
Afghanistan and South Africa will square off in the first Group B game of the 2025 Champions Trophy in Karachi on Friday, February 21. Australia and England are the other two teams in the group, with the top two finishers in both groups qualifying for the semi-finals.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel 'Aakash Chopra', the former India opener termed the clash between Afghanistan against South Africa a 'humdinger'.
"Afghanistan vs South Africa, humdinger, what a game. I felt both these teams were worthy of reaching the semi-finals. I didn't think Australia and England have that much might. However, now I am thinking how Afghanistan would bowl spin. Allah Ghazanfar is not there," he said (17:15).
Chopra reckoned that the result of the match could decide one of the semi-finalists from Group B.
"This is a very critical match. In my opinion, whoever wins this match will qualify for sure because I have slightly fewer expectations from England and Australia. I will stand corrected if things don't happen like that. So I am quite intrigued. We should attentively watch this match as we will see quality cricket from both sides," he observed.
Australia have been hit hard due to the unavailability of some of their star players. Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Marsh were ruled out of the tournament due to injuries. While Marcus Stoinis announced his retirement from ODIs, Mitchell Starc opted out for personal reasons.
England haven't been in great form in ODIs lately. They suffered a 3-0 hammering against India in a preparatory series for the 2025 Champions Trophy.
"We will have to see how many overs of spin they bowl" - Aakash Chopra on Afghanistan ahead of 2025 Champions Trophy clash against South Africa
![Rashid Khan and Noor Ahmad are among the prominent spinners in Afghainstan's 2025 Champions Trophy squad. [P/C: Getty]](https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2025/02/2f678-17401130385635-1920.jpg?w=500)
In the same video, Aakash Chopra expressed keenness to see how Afghanistan manage their spinners and death-over bowling in their 2025 Champions Trophy clash against South Africa.
"We will have to see how many overs of spin they bowl and whether the pitch is too flat for their spin to work. That is the one big question as otherwise, the way they bowl, spin would trap them. Can death bowling trouble them because they won't be able to manage the death overs between Azmatullah Omarzai and Fazalhaq Farooqi? So I am very eager to see that," he said.
The cricketer-turned-analyst added that the battle between South Africa's bowlers and Afghanistan's batters will also be interesting.
"I am also eager to see how South Africa bat, right from the top. So a big question will be the Afghani spin against the South African batting. The second big theme is that South Africa's bowling is slightly depleted. Afghanistan's question is how they would bat. So both teams' weak areas will come in front of each other. So it will be worth watching who wins that contest," Chopra observed.
To conclude, Aakash Chopra chose Afghanistan as the likely winners in their 2025 Champions Trophy clash against South Africa.