Brydon Carse Ruled Out, Jamie Overton Joins England as Afghanistan Bats First – CT 2025
England and Afghanistan face a must-win match in their ICC Champions Trophy 2025 Group B game. The venue is Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. Afghanistan’s captain, Hashmatullah Shahidi, won the toss. He chose to bat first to take advantage of the conditions. England has to make a change. Brydon Carse is out with an injury. Jamie Overton will replace him.
Both teams lost their first matches. This makes this game very important for their chances in the tournament.
ENG vs AFG: Playing XIs
England Playing XI:
Ben Duckett, Philip Salt (wk), Jamie Smith, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jos Buttler (c), Liam Livingstone, Jamie Overton, Mark Wood, Adil Rashid, Jofra Archer.
Afghanistan Playing XI:
Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Sediqullah Atal, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi.
ENG vs AFG: Captain’s Thoughts
Jos Buttler (England Captain):
“Yeah, okay. Obviously, the dew came in. Hopefully, it skids off the surface later in the night. We would have batted first as well. It looks a good wicket. We want to perform well overall to come out on top today. One change for us. Brydon Carse is out with an injury and Jamie Overton comes in. The individual skills are always high. The expectations are high from everyone. The fast bowlers will be charging in today.”
Hashmatullah Shahidi (Afghanistan Captain):
“We want to bat first. The wicket looks good. Hopefully, we get some spin in the second innings, it is a bit slow and that is what happened in the last game. Some time dew is coming, some time it isn’t. In the second innings, this pitch becomes a little slow and hopefully, dew doesn’t come and affect our spinners. We were not bowling in good areas, that is what we discussed in the team meeting. We are going with the same team.”
Match Preview: ENG vs AFG – A Must-Win Battle
Both teams need a win. England will count on their fast bowlers, Mark Wood and Jofra Archer. Afghanistan will count on Rashid Khan and Noor Ahmad to make the most of any spin-friendly conditions in the second innings. The Gaddafi Stadium pitch helps batters. However, dew can give the chasing team an edge.