Afghanistan spin sensation Allah Ghazanfar ruled out of Champions Trophy and IPL due to injury

Champions Trophy 2025 has yet another player pulling out due to injury. The latest casualty is young Afghanistan spin sensation Allah Ghazanfar. The youngster is also set to miss the upcoming Indian Premier League season. Ghazanfar was set to play for the Mumbai Indians after being purchased for INR 4.8 crores. 

Afghanistan have replaced Ghazanfar with Nangyal Kharoti for the upcoming Champions Trophy tournament. It has come to light that Ghazanfar suffered a massive injury during the recent tour of Zimbabwe. According to a statement by the Afghanistan Cricket Board, the youngster has suffered "fracture to L4 vertebra.”

🚨 INJURY UPDATE 🚨

Afghanistan's young spin-bowling sensation, AM Ghazanfar, has been ruled out of the ICC Champions Trophy due to a fracture in the L4 vertebra, specifically in the left pars interarticularis. He sustained the injury during Afghanistan’s recently held tour… pic.twitter.com/g0ALWe7HVe

— Afghanistan Cricket Board (@ACBofficials) February 12, 2025

The statement from ACB read, “Afghanistan's young spin-bowling sensation, AM Ghazanfar, has been ruled out of the ICC Champions Trophy due to a fracture in the L4 vertebra, specifically in the left pars interarticularis. He sustained the injury during Afghanistan’s recently held tour Zimbabwe and will be sidelined for a minimum of four months and will remain under treatment during this period.”

The statement also read, “Nangyal Kharoti, who was part of the reserves pool, has been promoted to the main squad for the Champions Trophy. Additionally, Mujeeb Ur Rahman's continues to miss the ODI action until he has fully recovered."

Massive blow for Afghanistan and Mumbai Indians 

Young spin sensation Allah Ghazanfar made an instant splash in the international cricket arena with his amazing bowling. With the wickets in Pakistan set to favour the slower bowlers, Ghazanfar was supposed to play a key role with Rashid Khan and Noor Ahmad. 

The youngster was last seen playing for MI Emirates in the ILT20 tournament, where he played three games and picked just a single wicket. His last international match was the Test versus Zimbabwe, where he picked four wickets in the game. 

So far, Ghazanfar has played 11 ODI matches and picked 21 wickets with a best of 6/26. Those figures were achieved against Bangladesh in Sharjah last year. While Kharoti is set to play as the lead spinner for Afghanistan, there is no news from Mumbai Indians’ camp. It is believed the five-time IPL winners will be soon looking for replacement players.