"My calculation has gone wrong" - Aakash Chopra on his 2025 Champions Trophy prediction ahead of AFG vs ENG clash

Ahead of the 2025 Champions Trophy clash between Afghanistan and England, former India player Aakash Chopra has acknowledged that he erred while picking his potential semi-finalists. He pointed out that he didn't consider the type of pitches while predicting Afghanistan to be one of the qualifiers from Group B.

Afghanistan will square off against England in a 2025 Champions Trophy Group B game in Lahore on Wednesday, February 26. Both sides suffered defeats in their respective tournament openers, with Hashmatullah Shahidi and company losing to South Africa by 107 runs and Australia beating Jos Buttler's side by five wickets.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel 'Aakash Chopra,' the former India opener noted that his pre-tournament semi-final prediction had gone wrong as he didn't take into account the nature of pitches in Pakistan.

"My calculation has gone wrong. I will be very, very honest. I had predicted India, New Zealand, South Africa and Afghanistan (as the semi-finalists). However, I did not check the venues. That was my mistake. I stand corrected because there is no venue where the ball is getting stuck slightly," he said (9:50).

Chopra opined that Afghanistan will have difficulties against England if the Lahore pitch doesn't help the spinners.

"I thought the ball would turn in Pakistan at some stage but they are not turning here. 350 runs were scored in Lahore and they were chased as well. There is not much help available for spin there. It will be a problem if the ball doesn't get stuck in Lahore," he observed.

The cricketer-turned-commentator highlighted that Afghanistan didn't have a potent seam-bowling attack.

"Let's be honest, Afghanistan's fast bowling is ordinary. Fazalhaq Farooqi is decent but if it's a flat pitch in an ODI match where he has to bowl 10 overs, he gets hit. (Aiden) Markram took him to the cleaners in the last match. Azmatullah Omarzai as the fast bowler from the other end - alright. Their spin is excellent but you need help for that. So I feel they will be slightly on the back foot," Chopra elaborated.

South Africa posted 315/6 in their 2025 Champions Trophy Group B clash against Afghanistan in Karachi on February 21. While Fazalhaq Farooqi registered figures of 1/59 in eight overs, Azmatullah Omarzai also picked up a solitary wicket and conceded 39 runs in six overs.

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"When South Africa bowled bouncers, they fell short a little" - Aakash Chopra on Afghanistan's batting issue ahead of AFG vs ENG 2025 Champions Trophy clash

Rahmat Shah (90) was the only Afghanistan batter to score more than 20 runs in their 2025 Champions Trophy clash against South Africa. [P/C: Getty]

In the same video, Aakash Chopra opined that England would try to take advantage of Afghanistan's shortcomings against the short ball in their 2025 Champions Trophy clash.

"The other thing about Afghanistan is that when South Africa bowled bouncers, they fell short a little. It seemed like they weren't ready for that kind of bowling. Mark Wood and Jofra Archer will be there and Jamie Overton might play this match as Brydon Carse isn't available. They will bowl bouncers," he said (10:55).

The analyst added that England need to win their remaining two Group B games to qualify for the semi-finals.

"From England's point of view, it's do or die. You have lost your first match and lost badly. If you lose after scoring 350, you wonder how you bowled. However, there is a little confidence if you have scored 350. If England win this match, the next match against South Africa will become do or die," Chopra observed.

Aakash Chopra has picked England as the likely winners in their 2025 Champions Trophy clash against Afghanistan. He added that the only way for Afghanistan to make a match of it would be to win the toss, bat first, and somehow post a total close to 290.