Clearing the air on their T20I leadership group, Afghanistan Cricket Board named wrist-spinner Rashid Khan as captain for the shortest form of the game, besides appointing middle-order batsman Najibullah Zadran as his deputy.
Rashid, who has previously also served as the limited-overs skipper, has been brought back at the helm of affairs in T20Is after the controversial all-format sacking of Asghar Afghan. Interestingly, when he was first given the captaincy badge after the 2019 World Cup in the UK, Asghar had taken over from him soon thereafter.
“Rashid was selected by senior ACB leadership led by ACB Chairman Farhan Yousefzai, for the role considering his experience, brilliant performance as well as leadership skills with the National team over the years,”
the ACB said in a statement.
Rashid became an obvious candidate to be handed T20I captaincy after the ouster of Asghar from the setup. The incisive wrist-spinner is one of the world’s best T20 cricketers around. He has played 51 T20Is for Afghanistan with an astonishing 95 scalps while conceding only 6.21 runs per over.
Rashid is the most popular cricketer among clubs and franchises, taking part in leagues around the world, including the IPL, where he is integral to Sunrisers Hyderabad. His immediate task as skipper will be to get the team ready for the T20 World Cup in UAE in October-November.
For Zadran, being appointed vice-captain is a huge vote of confidence from the board and the selectors. Also, a deserving one since the cricketer has been a bold performer for Afghanistan over the years.
The ACB had earlier appointed Hashmatullah Shahidi as the new Test and ODI captain and named Rahmat Shah as his deputy following the sacking of Asghar, whom the board nearly accused of deliberately conceding a Test match to Zimbabwe in Abu Dhabi this March.
“The decision to remove Asghar Afghan from captaincy was taken based on an investigation conducted by ACB’s Investigative committee which concluded that some of Afghan’s decisions as the captain of the team resulted in Afghanistan’s loss to Zimbabwe in the first Test of the series between both sides in Abu Dhabi in March,”
the board had said in a media release back then.
