Champions Trophy: Afghanistan coach sends warning to Australia

Afghanistan coach Jonathan Trott has warned Australia that his side are not to be taken lightly in their do-or-die Champions Trophy clash on Friday in Lahore.

The world No.8 team upset England in their most recent match, eliminating the cricketing powerhouse from the tournament.

With Australia’s fixture against South Africa ending in a washout earlier in the week, Afghanistan have the opportunity to send another top side home if they win on Friday — something Trott is confident they can do.

“Since I’ve been coach, we’ve played against Australia three times and we’ve been in the game each of those games,” he said.

“I see every game that we play is going to be competitive and every game we go into I expect to win.

“In the past, perhaps people would have seen the fixture and thought it was a little bit easier than playing a historic Test nation.

“Certainly after what happened in the World Cup, T20 World Cup, and I say this to the players as well, that Afghanistan’s never going to be taken lightly ever again.

“Australia aren’t going to take us lightly.”

England marked the latest in a long list of scalps Afghanistan have taken at major tournaments in recent years.

At the 2023 Cricket World Cup they beat England and Pakistan, while at the 2024 T20 World Cup they stunned both New Zealand and Australia en route to the semi-finals.

However, Trott is intent on shifting his team’s focus from one-off upsets to entire tournament efforts.

“I’ll tell the players to enjoy tonight,” he said after Afghanistan’s win over England.

“I’m going to make sure when they wake up tomorrow, they’re ready for Australia immediately.

“The focus is on Australia.

“That’s how the players are going to be and that’s what I’ll tell the fans.”

Despite Trott’s confidence, cricket bookmakers are less optimistic about Afghanistan’s chances against Australia.

Afghanistan’s odds of winning the tournament are much longer than the four other teams in contention as well.

Leading cricket betting sites have Afghanistan at +2800 to win the 2025 Champions Trophy, compared to +137 for favourites India, +350 for Australia, +375 for New Zealand, and +400 for South Africa.