Rashid steps down as Afghanistan captain after WT20 squad announcement
Afghanistan's Rashid Khan has stepped down as captain less than half an hour after the squad was announced for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup. Rashid shared a post saying that the selection committee and the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) did not obtain his consent for the team. Mohammad Nabi will be leading the side now. Here are further details.
In July, chief selector Asadullah Khan had resigned
Rashid's decision was effective immediately through his own tweet, posted just 22 minutes after the ACB's. Notably, in July 2021, chief selector Asadullah Khan had resigned citing too much interruption and interference from non-cricketers in the board. He had stated these people had no knowledge about the players and selection and that were the main reasons for his decision to step down.
Many players not in current scheme of things were picked
Afghanistan's WT20 squad has several players who haven't been in the scheme of things of late. Mohammad Shahzad last played a T20I in 2018. Pacers Shapoor Zadran and Dawlat Zadran were also picked, despite having played a T20I for Afghanistan in March 2020 and September 2019 respectively.. Hamid Hassan, who hasn't played a T20I for Afghanistan since March 2016, was also included.
A look at what Rashid said
"The selection committee and ACB (Afghanistan Cricket Board) has not obtained my consent for the team which has been announced by ACB media," Rashid tweeted. He added as the captain he reserves the right to be part of the selection of the team and hence he took the decision of stepping down from the role as the captain of Afghanistan T20 side effective immediately.
Afghanistan will need to make changes after naming more players
The ICC has clearly stated that a team should have 15 players in the squad, besides three reserve players. However, the squad named by ACB has more than 15 players. The ACB has named just two reserves as well.
Afghanistan WT20 squad named by ACB
Afghanistan WT20 squad named by ACB: Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Karim Janat, Hazratullah Zazai, Gulbadin Naib, Usman Ghani, Naveen ul Haq, Asghar Afghan, Hamid Hassan, Mohammad Nabi, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Najibullah Zadran, Dawlat Zadran, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Shapoor Zadran, Mohammad Shahzad (wk), Qais Ahmad Reserves: Afsar Zazai, Fareed Ahmad
Nabi to lead Afghanistan after Rashid steps down
Veteran all-rounder Nabi was appointed skipper of the side following the resignation of Rashid. Nabi has vowed to present a great picture of Afghanistan. "At this critical stage, I admire the decision of ACB for the announcement of leading the National Cricket Team in T20 Format. InshaAllah together we will present a great picture of the Nation in the upcoming T20 World Cup."
