Champions Trophy – Hashmatullah Shahidi sends warning to South Africa: We beat them 2-1 in Sharjah

Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi has fired a warning to South Africa ahead of their Champions Trophy 2025 clash. The two teams are all set to clash in the mega event on Friday, February 20 at National Stadium, Karachi. Ahead of the fixture, the Afghanistan skipper was asked if his team would be under pressure given the fact that they’ve won just two matches against the Proteas.

The Afghanistan skipper brushed aside any concerns for his team and said that his team will take confidence from their recent series win over South Africa in Sharjah. Afghanistan registered their maiden ODI series win against a top five ranked side as they beat South Africa 2-1.

Champions Trophy 2025: India vs Bangladesh Live

“Between 2019 and now there’s too much difference and just recently we beat them in Sharjah – 2-1 so we have that confidence with us, and we are not under pressure anyway, because right now we are focusing what we can do in this tournament and I believe that our team is more ready for this tournament and we are focusing on our own team. There is no pressure on us,” said Shahidi in the pre-match press conference.

Afghanistan’s phenomenal performances in recent years

Afghanistan have been on a roll in recent years in white-ball formats as they put up remarkable performances in the last ODI and T20 World Cups. They were in contention to reach the semi-finals having registered historic wins against Pakistan and England. In the recent T20 World Cup 2024, they made it to the semi finals of an ICC major event for the first time as they stunned Australia in the Super 8s.

Hence, Afghanistan will be eager to continue their golden run in the ICC Champions Trophy as well. They’re placed in Group B alongside Australia, England and Sri Lanka and will look to make it to their first ever final of an ICC event as conditions in Pakistan and UAE will favour their spin-heavy attack.