Rashid Khan steps down as Afghanistan captain after ACB announce T20 WC squad
Sep 09, 2021
New Delhi [India], September 9 : Afghanistan skipper Rashid Khan on Thursday decided to step down from captaincy after the spinner claimed that his "consent" was not obtained before announcing the squad for ICC men's T20 World Cup slated to be played in UAE and Oman.
Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) on Thursday announced the squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup. Minutes after the announcement, Rashid said the selection committee and ACB didn't obtain his consent for the team.
"As the captain and responsible person for the nation, I reserve the right to be part of the selection of the team. The selection committee and ACB has not obtained my consent for the team which has been announced by ACB media," Rashid said in a statement on Twitter.
"I am taking the decision of stepping down from the role as the captain of Afghanistan T20 side effective immediately. It's Always my proud playing for Afghanistan," he added.
In the squad, wicket-keeper batsman Mohammad Shahzad was also named in the squad. Afasr Zazai and Farid Ahmad Malik were included as the two reserve players.
Also, while all eyes are on recent developments in Afghanistan after the Taliban took over the country, recent media reports that women's cricket will not be supported in Afghanistan has not gone down well with the cricket community.
In fact, Cricket Australia has said it will have to rethink playing a Test match against the men's team if the women's team is not allowed to play.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) is monitoring the changing situation in Afghanistan and the board will discuss the impact this might have on the continued development of the game in the country.
"The ICC is committed to the long-term growth of women's cricket and despite the cultural and religious challenges in Afghanistan, steady progress had been made in this area since Afghanistan's admission as a Full Member in 2017," an ICC official spokesperson told ANI earlier in the day.
"The ICC has been monitoring the changing situation in Afghanistan and is concerned to note recent media reports that women will no longer be allowed to play cricket. This and the impact it will have on the continued development of the game will be discussed by the ICC Board at its next meeting," the spokesperson added.
Coming back to Rashid Khan, he was appointed as the T20I captain of Team Afghanistan in July this year.
