ICC World Cup 2019: ACB Dares Mohammad Shahzad to Clear Fitness Test to Prove His Claims

The ongoing ICC World Cup 2019 in England and Wales have witnessed no shortage of drama. However, it reached a peak when dissatisfied Afghanistan cricketer Mohammad Shahzad claimed that Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) ruled him out forcefully from the World Cup squad. While ACB has denied all the claims so far, now they have challenged Shahzad to appear in a fitness test to prove his claims.

Shahzad should prove his fitness: ACB

Meanwhile, Mohammad Shahzad sustained a knee injury during Afghanistan’s warm-up game against Pakistan. He had to retired hurt and didn’t take part in that game. However, Shahzad featured in Afghanistan’s opening two games against Australia and Sri Lanka, but the injury only aggravated to rule him out of the World Cup. Meanwhile, Shahzad didn’t have an excellent start to the World Cup scoring only seven runs from two games.

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Soon after that, Mohammad Shahzad claimed that he has regained fitness and was available for selection. He also brought serious allegations on ACB saying that they have pulled him out without even consulting. However, the board has dared the 31-year-old to appear in a fitness test and justify his claims. Asadullah Khan, the ACB CEO also said that Shahzad is taking advantage of unawareness of people back in Afghanistan.

“Why is he creating all this fuss? If he is fit, he should give the fitness test. If he clears the test, the board will send him to the United Kingdom the next day,” Asadullah said. “We’ve a medical report on his fitness. People in Afghanistan are not aware of fitness and other such issues. He is taking advantage of this ignorance by creating an issue out of it,” he added.

Mohammad Shahzad is the leading run-scorer for Afghanistan in the ODIs with 2727 runs from 84 matches. Meanwhile, the Afghans are currently struggling in the World Cup with no win from four games so far. Next up, they will clash against host England on June 18 (Tuesday) at the Old Trafford in Manchester. They need to put their best feet forward and put the top-ranked ODI side under some kind of pressure in their next outing.