“They want things to happen so quickly” - Former South African star’s massive statement on Afghanistan during 2025 Champions Trophy

Former South Africa speedster Dale Steyn has shared his opinion on Afghanistan following their last group-stage game against Australia in the 2025 Champions Trophy on Friday, February 28. The legendary pacer reckons that the Asian side lacks patience, which is visible in their game with both ball and bat.

While stressing the importance of first-class cricket, the 41-year-old said if Afghanistan can learn patience, they will win an ICC trophy in the next decade.

Afghanistan have been a rising force in ICC events over the last two years. They recently beat England by eight runs in the Champions Trophy, which was not a fluke. Ibrahim Zadran smashed 177, followed by a fifer from Azmatullah Omarzai.

The victory followed a rain-washed game against Australia as the two teams settled for one point each. They are mathematically alive in the race to the semifinals but dependent on England to beat South Africa by a big margin in the final Group B clash on Saturday, March 1.

Dale Steyn told ESPNcricinfo:

“They (Afghanistan) want things to happen so quickly. This ball must be a wicket, there's no patience to building up and taking a wicket. And sometimes, the batters are the same, they're batting in the first over. There's so much movement happening in the crease, so they're trying to hit a six and they're trying to get the game going.”

He continued:

“I think a lot of them play T20 cricket around the world, which is great, it's great for their pockets and it's great for them to learn. But, maybe, spending some time in four-day games might help, because one-day cricket is essentially a shortened version of a Test match. It's got its moments where T20 is applied. But patience is one of the biggest things that Afghanistan players need to learn, and once they get that down, honestly, in the next decade, they could win ICC tournaments, for sure.”

“Back in the day, a lot of players would go play county cricket. Or they would go play first-class cricket to improve their skills and improve their patience really. I think we live in a time now where people are not patient enough. We can hardly watch two seconds on an Instagram story and it just feels like the Afghanistan players are similar when they're playing their cricket,” Steyn added.

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“Their batting needs to improve as well” – Former India player on Afghanistan’s middle order

Former India batter Wasim Jaffer shed light on Afghanistan’s middle-order woes. The cricketer-turned-commentator asked the players to be more consistent. The 47-year-old said in the same conversation as Steyn:

“Their batting needs to improve as well. We say that they are not a big chasing team. Their [Nos.] 3, 4, 5, even though Atal played well today, Rahmat Shah needs to be more consistent. He got a 90 in the first game, [Hashmatullah] Shahidi got stuck today, Gurbaz is their main player, he had a very off tournament. That's where I think they lacked this time.”

Jaffer, however, commended the side for their performances since the 2023 ODI World Cup, while pointing out the challenges of losing one game in a tournament like the Champions Trophy. He said:

“Afghanistan are on the rise. And you've got to applaud them because they've played semi-finals [at the 2024 T20 World Cup], they've beaten good teams and, when they beat anybody it's not an upset anymore. So, you can expect Afghanistan to put on a show.”

“They will be disappointed [with] the way they started the first game. In such a short tournament, it's important to start really well because you don't get too many chances. One loss and you could be out of the tournament, which happened here,” he added.

The Hashmatullah Shahidi-led side lost to South Africa by 107 runs in the opening game of the 2025 Champions Trophy. The loss has minimized their chances of qualifying for the last four. Meanwhile, Steve Smith's Australia have already qualified for the semifinals from the same group.