Rashid Khan appointed Afghanistan captain across all formats

Asghar Afghan to act as Rashid Khan's deputy.

Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) shocked everyone by appointing Gulbadin Naib as the captain of the 2019 World Cup. Rashid Khan was named the T20I skipper while Rahmat Shah was made the Test captain while Asghar Afghan was axed from the helm for no reason. However, after the debacle at the mega event where Afghanistan failed to win even a single match, the reports state that the board has reappointed Afghan as captain of the team across all the formats again.

Afghanistan team was in the news more for their off-field issues in England and less for their performances on the field. Mohammad Shahzad was controversially sent back home after the first two matches while there is no clarity over Aftab Alam being sent back ahead of the last couple of matches of the tournament. They dragged the likes of India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka during the World Cup but ended up on the losing side as Naib, at times, crumbled under pressure.

Not many were happy with Gulbadin Naib being appointed at the helm including Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi and the critics feel that the performance of the team affected due to the same reason.

Bizarre turn of events

According to the reports in TOLO News, ACB has once again appointed Asghar Afghan as Afghanistan captain across all the formats of the game. The board’s decision to go with the split captaincy has been dumped even before being tried. Things didn’t look good in Afghanistan cricket ever since Afghan was removed from captaincy.

Moreover, Asghar Afghan not getting picked in the playing XI for the first few matches left many perplexed. Afghan only came into the team only in the fourth match of the team and went on to score 154 runs in six outings at an average of less than 26. He also lent a helping hand to Naib whenever needed and at times, was seen controlling the field and making the bowling changes as well.

Gulbadin Naib was completely new to the high-pressure cricket at the mega event and the decision to remove experienced Afghan from the captaincy ahead of the World Cup was completely baffling at the first place.