Afghan's Asghar Stanikzai ruled out of WC Qualifer to undergo appendix surgery

Bengaluru, February 26: Afghanistan batsman Asghar Stanikzai has been ruled out of the World Cup Qualifiers in Zimbabwe in March as he requires surgery to remove his appendix.

The news regarding Stanikzai will come as a bitter blow to Afghanistan as they bid to reach the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup.

The 30-year-old middle-order batsman Stanikzai has scored 1,565 runs at an average of 21.14 in 83 ODIs.

Afghanistan face the Netherlands in a friendly on March 1 before their first CWCQ Group B clash against Scotland on 4 March. They will also take on Hong Kong and Nepal.