England make one change to their XI for Champions Trophy 2025 match vs Afghanistan

In a must-win fixture in the Champions Trophy 2025, England have announced one change to face Afghanistan. The match will take place on February 26, Wednesday, at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. Injured Brydon Carse has been ruled out and bowling all-rounder Jamie Overton has replaced him in the eleven.

Carse picked up the crucial wicket of Alex Carey in the five-wicket loss against Australia. However, he had a forgettable night with the ball as he leaked 69 runs in seven overs. The toe injury to the 29-year-old has ruled him out of the eight-team tournament but his replacement Rehan Ahmed has not been picked. Overton, who has played three ODIs and picked up as many wickets, will replace Carse. The 30-year-old has also played only 45 List A games and has snared 60 scalps.

Opening batter Ben Duckett was the bright spot for the Englishmen as he scored a record-breaking 165 in the five-wicket defeat against Australia. Joe Root also chipped in with 68 to build a solid century-stand with Duckett, but the likes of Harry Brook, Jos Buttler, and Liam Livingstone failed to fire. Even a score of 351 was not enough and Josh Inglis' 120* triumphed the left-hander's 165.

England playing XI: Phil Salt, Ben Duckett, Jamie Smith (wk), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jos Buttler (c), Liam Livingstone, Jamie Overton, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood.

"We haven't been doing that enough in the recent past" - Jos Buttler laments England's failure to execute their plans well

Jos Buttler. (Image Credits: Getty)

Skipper Buttler acknowledged that England are under pressure but wishes to focus on the positives instead of the negatives as they gear up to face Afghanistan. As quoted by BBC Sport, he stated:

"Any time as an England captain, you want to perform well and you want to lead your team to winning games of cricket. We haven't been doing that enough in the recent past. As soon as you catch yourself thinking about any negative things, you just try and completely forget that and focus on all of the positive things that could go right and where you can take the team. I'm very much focused on that."

Afghanistan, who lost to South Africa in their opening game, will take some confidence from defeating the Englishmen in the 2023 World Cup. England are also yet to win a one-dayer under their new head coach Brendon McCullum.