Blow For Afghanistan & Mumbai Indians as Allah Ghazanfar Forced Out of Champions Trophy & IPL 2025 With Fracture

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Mumbai Indians and Afghanistan suffered a blow after spin sensation Allah Ghazanfar was ruled out of action for four months with a fracture, forcing the youngster out of the Champions Trophy 2025, scheduled to begin next week in Pakistan, and also IPL 2025, which starts next month.

The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) announced the news via their social media account on Wednesday (February 12) with Ghazanfar being replaced by one of the reserves in Nangyal Kharoti in the Afghanistan 15-member squad for the ICC tournament.

According to ACB statement, Ghazanfar has suffered a severe fracture in the lower back that will need a recovery period of at least four months, ruling him out of the Champions Trophy and IPL 2025.

"AM Ghazanfar, has been ruled out of the ICC Champions Trophy due to a fracture in the L4 vertebra, specifically in the left pars interarticularis. He sustained the injury during Afghanistan's recently held tour of Zimbabwe, and will be sidelined for a minimum of four months and will remain under treatment during this period," the ACB wrote in it's statement.

Ghazanfar was picked in the Afghanistan preliminary squad after excellent performances in the limited overs formats last year. This also earned him a contract in IPL with Mumbai Indians beating off competition from Kolkata Knight Riders to land the spinner at Rs 4.80 Crore.

Afghanistan named Kharoti as Ghazanfar's replacement and also revealed that fellow spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman, who would have been a choice to be in the squad, was not available for selection as the senior player continues to recover from an injury.

"Nangyal Kharoti, who was part of the reserves pool, has been promoted to the main squad for the Champions Trophy. Additionally, Mujeeb Ur Rahman's continues to miss the ODI action, until he has fully recovered," ACB statement further added.

Afghanistan 2025 Champions Trophy Squad

Hashmatullah Shahidi (captain), Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Sediqullah Atal, Rahmat Shah, Ikram Alikhil, Gulbadin Naib, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Nangyal Kharoti, Noor Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Farid Malik, Naveed Zadran. Reserves: Darwish Rasooli, Bilal Sami.