Why Matthew Short will miss Champions Trophy 2025 semi-finals?

After suffering a quad injury in the postponed match against Afghanistan, Australian starter Matthew Short is certain to miss the Champions Trophy semifinal matchup against either India or New Zealand. Before being removed by Azmatullah Omarzai, Short appeared to be in discomfort despite his 15-ball 20 on Friday, which helped Australia progress to the semifinals with four points. 

In their Champions Trophy opener, Australia, captained by Steve Smith, had chased down England's massive 351 with 63 from the 29-year-old white-ball star. "I don't think the star opener will be able to play in the semifinal next week.” "I think he'll be struggling. I think we saw tonight he wasn't moving very well. I think it's probably going to be too quick between games for him to recover," Smith was quoted as saying on Prime Video by the Australian Associated Press (AAP).

Even though Jake Fraser-McGurk had two failures in the most recent one-day series in Sri Lanka, Australia might add him as a like-for-like substitute in the starting XI. Cooper Connolly is the team's traveling reserve in case Short is ruled out of the competition entirely, while Aaron Hardie, an all-rounder, may also be an option. "We have a few of folks there to come in and fill a position," Smith continued.

What's next for Australia?

The opponents for Australia will only be revealed following Sunday's group match between Rohit Sharma's team and the Black Caps in Dubai. Australia will either face India in the semifinals on Tuesday in Dubai or New Zealand in Lahore on Wednesday. Australia leads Group B with four points now, but if South Africa, who are on three points, wins the last group match on Saturday in Karachi, that might change.

Afghanistan also has a slim chance of qualifying if Jos Buttler's England defeats South Africa, which statistically seems very improbable, and placing second in the group after Australia.