In a major turn of events, the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) have appointed Pakistani batting legend Younis Khan as a mentor for the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy 2025. The 47-year-old previously served as a batting consultant for Afghanistan in 2022.  On Wednesday, January 8th, the news was officially made public by the national cricketing body. Younis is expected to join the Afghan camp shortly just before the tournament kicks off on February 19. 

See also: Martin Guptill announces international cricket retirement

ACB's recent statement which confirms Younis' appointment as a mentor

On Wednesday, in a recent press release, the ACB spokesman Sayeed Naseem Sadat confirmed Younis Khan's appointment as a mentor. During his prime days, Younis served as a pillar for Pakistan across all formats. In his nearly two-decades-long international career, he scored 10,099 runs in 118 Tests, including a memorable triple-century against Sri Lanka (313). Furthermore, also reached the number-one spot in the ICC Test rankings. Under his leadership, Pakistan lifted their maiden T20 World Cup trophy in 2009.

“ACB has assigned former experienced top-order Pakistani player Younis Khan as Mentor for Champions Trophy 2025. He (Younis) will join the team before the event starts in Pakistan.” 

After calling quits, Younis shifted his attention to coaching. Over the course of a few years, Younis enriched his coaching record and took a number of mentoring roles for the Pakistan Cricket team and Peshawar Zalmi in the Pakistan Super League (PSL). In addition, he also tried his luck in the shortest format of the game and worked as a head coach for the Bangla Tigers in the Abu Dhabi T10 League.

Afghanistan's strange inclination towards hiring foreign coaching personnel

Afghanistan have earned a reputation for drafting foreign players into the coaching setup. During the ODI World Cup in India, Afghanistan had the services of the former Indian cricketer Ajay Jadeja. Under his supervision, Afghanistan had a memorable run in the World Cup unlike the previous editions, and finished sixth, including victories against England and Pakistan. Notably, Jadeja offered his services without seeking any payment in return.

Last year in the T20 World Cup which was jointly hosted by West Indies and the USA, Windies all-rounder DJ Bravo served as a bowling consultant for Afghanistan. Although they officially did not have a mentor for that tournament, the team managed to reach the semi-finals for the first time in its history. 

The appointment of Younis Khan highlights Afghanistan's significant inclination towards including foreign coaches from the country where the tournament is expected to be held. With the Champions Trophy slated to be jointly hosted by Pakistan and the UAE, Afghanistan can definitely profit from Younis' rich expertise. The Pakistani batting legend comes across as a natural leader and has the potential to scale Afghanistan's batting department to new heights.