Mohammed Nabi named Afghanistan captain after Rashid Khan steps down

Afghanistan has directly qualified for the Super 12 stage of the T20 World Cup
Star all-rounder Mohammed Nabi will replace Rashid Khan as captain of the Afghanistan men’s national cricket team at the upcoming T20 World Cup, which begins on October 17.

On Thursday, Rashid Khan stepped down as the captain minutes after the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) announced the squad for the T20 World Cup. Rashid said: “The selection committee and ACB has not obtained my consent for the team which has been announced by ACB media.”

Nabi, who had earlier captained Afghanistan, will be now lead the side, reported ESPNcricinfo.

Afghanistan’s selectors have named veterans Shapoor Zadran and wicketkeeper Mohammad Shahzad in the squad along with injury-prone fast bowler Hamid Hassan.

“The selection committee and ACB (Afghanistan Cricket Board) has not obtained my consent for the team which has been announced by ACB media,” Rashid said in a tweet, moments after the ACB tweeted the 18-member squad and also named two reserve players.

“As the captain and responsible person for the nation I reserve the right to be part of the selection of the team,” Rashid said. “I am taking the decision of stepping down from the role as the captain of Afghanistan T20 side effective immediately.”

Rashid, who is the world’s top-ranked bowler in Twenty20s, was named Afghanistan captain for the T20 World Cup in July. His deputy Najibullah Zadran was included in the 18-member squad.

Afghanistan has directly qualified for the Super 12 stage of the T20 World Cup and is placed in Group 2 alongside Pakistan, New Zealand and the two qualifiers.

Squad: Rashid Khan, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Hazratullah Zazai, Usman Ghani, Asghar Afghan, Mohammad Nabi, Najibullah Zadran, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Mohammad Shahzad, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Karim Janat, Gulbadin Naib, Naveen ul Haq, Hamid Hassan, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Dawlat Zadran, Shapoor Zadran, Qais Ahmad.

Reserves: Afsar Zazai, Farid Ahmad Malik