“You think we will come only to play with Maxwell?” - Afghanistan captain’s powerful words after beating England in 2025 Champions Trophy
Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi has quashed the possibility of Australia star Glenn Maxwell's heroic double hundred in their last meeting lingering on their minds ahead of a crucial 2025 Champions Trophy tie. The all-rounder had single-handedly guided the Men in Yellow to a historic win against Afghanistan in the 2023 ODI World Cup at the Wankhede Stadium.
While defending 292, Afghanistan had reduced Australia to 91-7 and were on the cusp of a historic win. Maxwell, however, played one of the greatest innings (201*) in the format's history, battling cramps and injury towards the end, to crush Shahidi and company.
Australia and Afghanistan do have some friction apart from their brief history on the field. The Men in Yellow had boycotted a bilateral series against the subcontinent side, citing the state of human rights in the nation led by the Taliban. In response, premier player Rashid Khan had also pulled out from the Big Bash League (BBL).
While the two nations have not faced each other in ODIs since the fateful night in Mumbai, they did have a memorable outing in the 2024 T20 World Cup. On that occasion, Afghanistan secured a 21-run win to knock the heavyweights out of the semi-final race.
"You think we will come only to play with Maxwell? We have planning for all Australian team. I know that he played really well in 2023 World Cup, but that's part of the history," Shahidi told reporters (via ESPNcricinfo).
"After that, we beat them in [the] T20 World Cup. We think about all [the] opposition team, we are not coming to the ground to plan on [an] individual player. We will try our best to come with the planning and we are not playing only Maxwell - we are playing Australia," he added.
Maxwell had threatened to spoil Afghanistan's party in the T20 World Cup outing as well. Chasing 149, Maxwell scored a 41-ball 59 but lacked support from the other end.
"We won't put that pressure on ourselves" - Afghanistan captain Hasmaullah Shahidi on Champions Trophy 2025 qualification hopes
Afghanistan began their Champions Trophy 2025 campaign with a 107-run loss to South Africa, but have roared back into contention after a historic win over England. They have a solid chance of making it to the semi-finals of an ICC event for the second successive time if they manage to topple the two-time winners of the competition, Australia.
Afghanistan produced a well-rounded display against England, as Ibrahim Zadran scored a mammoth ton and Azmatullah Omarzai bagged a fifer. Senior players like Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, and Fazalhaq Farooqi also played their part in the win.
"We will try to play positive game - just like we defeated England today, we hope to beat Australia as well. We won't put that pressure on ourselves by thinking too much about the semi-final qualification," Shahidi said in the same interview.
Afghanistan's clash against Australia is scheduled for Friday, February 28, at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.