Afghanistan are all but knocked out of the Champions Trophy 2025 after rain washed out their final group-stage match against Australia on Friday, February 28. Just 30 minutes of rain at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore forced the match to be abandoned after puddles of water formed throughout the playing field.

With the third game of the group stage getting washed out due to rain, the fans called out the host nation, Pakistan, over the standards of their newly renovated stadiums. On Friday, the players were unable to take the field in Lahore after rain came pelting down at around 8 PM IST. It was thought that play would resume after a brief break, but given that the groundstaff were unable to remove water from several sections of the ground, the match was called off at 9:24 PM IST.

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Fans and experts slammed the organisers of the tournament—the Pakistan Cricket Board, who had spent a considerable amount of money renovating the stadiums. According to a PTI report, the board nearly spent 18 billion Pakistani rupees in rebuilding stadium facilities in Karachi, Lahore, and Rawalpindi, three of the venues in the tournament.

Fans hit out against the PCB via social media, demanding that the International Cricket Council not give the hosting rights to Pakistan in the near future.

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With the washout, Australia qualified for the semi-finals of the tournament. Afghanistan have a mathematical chance of reaching the semis but in all likelihood they have been knocked out. According to ESPNcricinfo Afghanistan can only qualify if South Africa lose by at least 207 runs while chasing 301 in their final Group B game against England.