Mohammad Nabi confirms ODI retirement after Pakistan-hosted Champions Trophy

Afghanistan’s allrounder Mohammad Nabi has announced that he plans to retire from One-Day International (ODI) cricket after the 2025 Champions Trophy. The 39-year-old revealed his decision after Afghanistan's 2-1 ODI series win against Bangladesh in the UAE, where he was named Player of the Series.

Nabi, who has been a key player for Afghanistan since their ODI debut in 2009, explained his decision by saying, "In my mind, from the last World Cup, I was retired but then we qualified for the Champions Trophy and I felt if I could play that, it would be great." He confirmed that he will continue to play T20Is but will say goodbye to ODIs after the 2025 tournament.

He has reportedly informed the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) of his decision and plans to keep playing T20Is. Speaking to the ACB media team, he stated, "We will see, but no, I will not play for long. God willing, after the Champions Trophy, we will say goodbye to the ODIs."

With 167 ODI appearances, Nabi is Afghanistan's most capped player in the format. He is also ranked as the World No. 1 ODI allrounder by the ICC. Over his career, he has scored 3,600 runs, including 17 fifties and two centuries, and taken 172 wickets as an off-spinner. Nabi is second on Afghanistan’s list of highest run-scorers and wicket-takers in ODIs.

The 2025 Champions Trophy will be a special event for Afghanistan, as it marks their first-ever appearance at the tournament. They qualified by finishing sixth in the 2023 ODI World Cup. The Champions Trophy features the top seven teams from the World Cup, plus hosts Pakistan.

Nabi, who captained Afghanistan during their first World Cup in 2015 and played in the 2019 and 2023 editions, retired from Tests in 2019 but has remained an important figure in Afghanistan’s rise in international cricket.