"We'd love to win and silence the crowd" - Australian player's huge statement ahead of AFG vs AUS 2025 Champions Trophy clash

Australia's middle-order batter Marnus Labuscahgne has expressed his desire to silence the crowd which is likely to be heavily in Afghanistan's support when they lock horns on Friday at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. The right-hander said he wishes Australia finish at the top spot in their pool.

Afghanistan are coming off a thrilling victory over England at the same venue and the clash against Australia is a virtual quarter-final as the winner will enter the semi-finals. Although the two-time winners registered a comprehensive win over England Hashmatullah Shahidi and his men pose a real threat, mainly due to the variety of bowlers they possess.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday ahead of the big game, Labuschagne said, as quoted by Perth Now:

"As players, you always want to play. Obviously, if the whole match rains out, that means that we go through to the semi-finals. But we’d love to be able to win the game tomorrow and finish top in the pool. That’s something we want to aim to do and make sure we’ve won all our matches leading up to the semi-finals. But those things are out of our control, so I will have to make sure we’re ready to go tomorrow if it is a shortened fixture."

Afghanistan came quite close to beating the Men in Yellow in the 2023 World Cup fixture in Mumbai but Glenn Maxwell's freakish double-hundred came in the way. However, they were successful in defeating the Aussies during the T20 World Cup 2024.

"I’ve got no issues about playing tomorrow" - Marnus Labuschagne on Australia facing Afghanistan

Marnus Labusschagne. (Image Credits: Getty)

With Cricket Australia taking a stance against Afghanistan for a bilateral series due to human rights violations against women amid the Taliban rule, Labuschagne said he doesn't have any qualms since it's an ICC event. He added:

"Yeah, interesting question. Obviously, it’s an ICC tournament and our game, as the schedule came out, we’re playing Afghanistan. Personally, I’ve got no issues about playing tomorrow. But, obviously, there has been some stances from us at Cricket Australia in the past. But we’re just focusing on tomorrow where we are playing Afghanistan."

With showers also predicted in Lahore, Steve Smith and co. will be through to the semi-finals if the game is washed out. They already have three points under their belt since the match against South Africa was also washed out due to rain.