Rashid Khan to be sacked as Afghanistan captain over shocking reasons - Taliban involved?

Big drama is building inside Afghanistan cricket, and this time, Rashid Khan might lose the job after the latest appointment of Richard Pybus as the new head coach.

Rashid Khan’s captaincy in danger after the T20 World Cup 2026

It is being said that the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) is seriously thinking about removing Rashid Khan from T20 captaincy after their disappointing T20 World Cup 2026 campaign. ACB sources claim that discussions have already started at the top level.

Read Also: Ex-Pakistan head coach joins Afghanistan amid Pak-Afghan war: Who is Richard Pybus?

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Young batter Ibrahim Zadran has reportedly been called to Kabul for the meeting regarding the captaincy. An insider from the ACB reportedly said that the Afghanistan selection committee pushed for sacking Rashid from the T20I captaincy despite his success.

There are also murmurs about political pressure behind the incoming call, though nothing has been officially confirmed. It is also being said that Rashid has been targeted for some personal reasons, too.

د افغان کرکټ بورډ یو مسئول راته وویل چې پلان لري راشد خان د شل اوریزو سیالیو له «کپتانۍ څخه لېرې» کړي. ابراهیم ځدراڼ ته یې هم زنګ وهلی چې کابل ته ورشي چې د کپتان کېدو په اړه ورسره وغږېږي.

د کرکټ بورډ دغه مسول راته وویل چې د «راشد د لېرې کېدو غوښتنه د غوراوي کمېټې کړې او د هغه…

— Jafar Haand (@jafarhaand) February 25, 2026

Last week, Rashid Khan became the first bowler to take 700 wickets in T20 cricket. The spin wizard reached this milestone during Afghanistan's T20 World Cup 2026 group match against UAE in Delhi.

Rashid Khan's captaincy record

Speaking about captaincy, Rashid was the youngest captain in both Test and ODI formats, having taken over Afghanistan’s leadership at the age of 19 years. He led Afghanistan in two Tests, winning one while losing on one occasion so far.

In ODIs, the seasoned spinner has the worst record, winning only one game out of 7 matches as captain. However, Rashid has a much better record in T20Is, winning over 55% of matches. Under his captaincy, Afghanistan recorded their first-ever T20I victory over New Zealand and even reached the semifinals of the 2024 T20 World Cup in the USA and Caribbean.

Read Also: Salman Ali Agha’s wife and son face vicious attacks amid T20 World Cup 2026 disaster

Afghanistan's T20 World Cup 2026 disaster

Meanwhile, Afghanistan’s dream of repeating their 2024 heroics ended in heartbreak at the T20 World Cup 2026 in India and Sri Lanka. They were placed in Group D and could win only two matches, finishing third in the table and failing to qualify for the Super 8 round.

Afghanistan’s campaign began with a five-wicket loss to New Zealand in Chennai. The second game was even more painful as they lost a dramatic double Super Over against South Africa in Ahmedabad. That loss proved costly. However, they bounced back strongly.

Rashid’s team went on to beat UAE in Delhi by five wickets, and then they crushed Canada by 82 runs in Chennai. Ibrahim Zadran had smashed a brilliant unbeaten 95 off 56 balls in that match.

Ibrahim smashed back-to-back half-centuries in the last two games while the spin trio of Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi, and Mujeeb Ur Rahman also showed their class in Indian conditions.

However, two early defeats were too much to recover from. The tournament also marked the end of Jonathan Trott’s time as head coach, as they are now set for a fresh start under Richard Pybus.