Lahore, Feb 26: Afghanistan won the toss and elected to bat first against England in the Group B match of ICC Champions Trophy 2025 here at Gaddafi Stadium.

For England, all-rounder Jamie Overton comes in, replacing fast bowler Brydon Carse, who has been ruled out due to an injury. Meanwhile, Afghanistan are playing with the same team from the last match.

After Australia-South Africa Tuesday's match was abandoned due to rain, the clash between England and Afghanistan is a virtual knockout game with the loser becoming the third team to be eliminated. Both teams are yet to secure a win in the tournament, and a loss for either side would effectively end their semifinal hopes.

Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi said, "We will bat first. The wicket looks good. Hopefully, it will spin in the second innings. And it might be slower as well. Sometimes the dew is coming and sometimes it is not. Hopefully, there won't be any dew and help our spinners. It might get slower for sure. We were not bowling in the good areas in the last game. We are going with the same team."

England captain Jos Buttler said, "The dew came in last game and skidded on a bit under lights. Ww would have batted first as well. Looks a good wicket. It came on to the bat nicely. We just got one change. Carse is out. Overton is in. Individual skills are very high."

Playing XIs:

England: Philip Salt, Ben Duckett, Jamie Smith (w), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jos Buttler (c), Liam Livingstone, Jofra Archer, Jamie Overton, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood

Afghanistan: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (w), Ibrahim Zadran, Sediqullah Atal, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooq

(IANS)

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