Asghar Afghan, Afghanistan, 2019 World Cup
Getty Images

The right-handed batsman of Afghanistan Asghar Afghan has been removed from the captaincy reigns of Afghanistan ahead of the ICC World Cup 2019. He was sacked from all three formats of the game and was the handed captaincy to three different players. It was a surprising move, as none was expecting it ahead of the grand event.

Gulbadin Naib has been announced as the ODI captain and will now lead the team at the World Cup. Rahmat Shah has been picked to captain the team in the Tests while the superstar of Afghanistan Cricket Team Rashid Khan has been picked for the T20Is.

Good time to bring change in captaincy – Afghanistan board

Rahmat Sha has captained the Mis Ainak region four times in List A cricket. Meanwhile, Naib has led the Boost region and Mis Ainak region once each in first-class cricket. He has also captained List A teams on nine occasions.

Asghar Afghan
Image Courtesy: Getty

According to Azizullah Fazli, the ACB chairman, the changes will provide opportunities to young captains, who are the future of the game in the country.

He told ESPNcricinfo, “The World Cup provides us with the opportunity to play against nine Full Members. So we thought it is a good time to introduce change in leadership.”

Under Asghar Afghan captaincy, Afghanistan played 56 ODIs, 46 T20Is and two Test matches. Crucially, he led the team in its historic maiden Test match, against India in June 2018, and more recently to their first Test win, against Ireland.

Read More  RR vs DC Match Preview- IPL 2024, Match 9
Asghar Afghan Sacked From Captaincy Of All Three Formats, New Captains Announced
PC: Getty Images

In between, the decision has not gone down well with Afghanistan cricketer Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi, who both took to Twitter to express their disappointment. The duo feels that this is not the right time, especially, with the ICC World Cup 2019 around the corner.

Coming back to the stats of Asghar Afghan, he was appointed as the captain of Afghanistan back in April 2015. Afghanistan posted 31 wins in ODIs and they also registered 37 victories in 46 T20Is. He also led his country to victory in the ICC World Cup qualifiers, which paved them a way to head into the ICC World Cup 2019.

I just love what I script. Over the years, Cricket has been my passion and crisping articles on it gives me an immense pleasure...Cheers...!!!