Rashid Khan steps down from T20 captaincy after ACB announces the Afghanistan World Cup squad without taking his consent
Rashid Khan has stepped down as skipper of Afghanistan's T20 team with immediate effect after a disagreement with the ACB. Rashid Khan was unhappy that the selection committee and ACB did not consult or take his consent before announcing Afghanistan's squad for the 2021 T20 World Cup.
He soon took to Twitter to post an image with an emotional note through which he conveyed his displeasure over ACB's actions. The leg-spinner also announced his decision to resign from the leadership duties in the same post. His post read:
"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. I am taking the decision of stepping down of stepping down from the role as the captain of the Afghanistan T20 side effective immediately. It's always my proud playing for Afghanistan."
These are the T20 World Cup captains for all 16 teams participating in the tournament, click here to read.
Earlier, the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) did officially announce Rashid Khan as the skipper of the team for the World Cup. It will be interesting to see who replaces Rashid now as he has stepped down from the role.
SRH players Mohammad Nabi and Mujeeb Ur Rahman find a place in the Afghanistan squad for the T20 World Cup
Afghanistan has earned direct qualification to the Super 12 stage of the tournament. They are in group 2, which also comprises India, Pakistan, New Zealand, and two other qualifying teams. Afghanistan will face tough challenges within the group. They have to overcome the challenges posed by three established international teams to qualify for the knock-out stage.
Afghanistan T20 World Cup squad
Rashid Khan, Rahmatullah 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.
Afghanistan will kick start its World Cup campaign with a clash against a qualifying team on October 25 in Sharjah.