ICC T20 WC: Afghanistan appoint Mohammad Nabi as new captain as country goes through turmoil

Kabul, Sep 12: Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) has appointed senior all-rounder Mohammed Nabi as the captain for ICC T20 World Cup 2021 after star spinner Rashid Khan stepped down as the captain of the national side.

On Thursday, the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) announced an 18-member squad for the world cup with two reserve players. Within minutes of the announcement, Khan took to social media and stated that he was stepping down from captaincy as his 'consent' had not been taken.

Taking to Twitter, Rashid wrote in a statement, "As the captain and responsible person for the nation, I reserve the right to be part of the selection of the team. The selection committee and ACB has not obtained my consent for the team which has been announced by ACB media.

"I am taking the decision of stepping down from the role as the captain of Afghanistan T20 side effective immediately. It's Always my proud playing for Afghanistan," said Rashid.

Soon after the board named Rashid's Sunrisers Hyderabad teammate, Nabi, as the replacement. "InshaAllah together we will present a great picture of the nation in the upcoming T20 World Cup," Nabi tweeted.

Afghanistan cricket is also going through turmoil after the Taliban took over the country. Sports in Afghanistan also took a big hit as according to reports women's cricket will be stopped in the nation.

As a result of that Cricket Australia has raised doubts over playing against the men's team if the women aren't allowed to play. The T20 World Cup is set to get underway on October 17th and will be played in UAE and Oman.

Afghanistan Squad: Mohammad Nabi (Captain), Rashid Khan, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Hazratullah Zazai, Usman Ghani, Asghar Afghan, Najibullah Zadran, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Mohammad Shahzad, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Karim Janat, Gulbadin Naib, Naveen ul Haq, Hamid Hassan, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Dawlat Zadran, Shapoor Zadran, Qais Ahmad.

Reserves: Afsar Zazai, Farid Ahmad Malik.