England lost their opening game to Australia by five wickets on Saturday after setting the 50-overs world champions a target of 352.
England’s performances have dipped since then Buttler took charge as captain, however, with the side failing to defend their T20 and 50-overs World Cup titles.
They also face an early exit from the Champions Trophy unless they quickly turn things around, starting with their game against Afghanistan today.
Champions Trophy 2025: Semi-final qualification scenario after SA v AUS game result
With the Aussies and Proteas now at three points each, they remain favorites to advance to the semi-finals from Group B. Following Wednesday’s abandoned clash, England and Afghanistan find themselves in deep trouble, as the loser will crash out of the tournament. However, if rain prevents play, both teams will still have a slim chance of qualifying for the semi-finals.
England and Afghanistan have faced each other three times in the ODI format with England winning two and Afghanistan victorious in one
Afghanistan
Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), 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.
England
Jos Buttler (c), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Tom Banton, Harry Brook, Rehan Ahmed, Ben Duckett, Jamie Overton, Jamie Smith, Liam Livingstone, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Saqib Mahmood, Phil Salt, Mark Wood.
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