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KABUL (SW): In an exclusive interview with Salam Watandar, Mohammad Asghar Stanikzai, captain of the national cricket squad, has said he plans to stay with the team for at least three more years.
Asghar is among the veteran cricketers leading the team of many young and emerging players. Stanikzai said his stay in the national team would pretty much depend on his fitness, and he remains quite focused on staying fit. Citing the example of former captain Nauroz Mangal, captain Stanikzai said only fitness problems preventing the master batsman from playing more cricket for the country on the international level.
Afghanistan has recently been allowed entry in the International Cricket Council (ICC) Full Members’ premier group earlier this year. This means the country would have more international exposure. About this, the captain said extra efforts are needed to prove the country worthy of this honor. Recalling the pledges he made while taking the captaincy, Stanikzai said he helped Afghanistan retain the top slot among the ICC Associate Members above Ireland and Scotland, helped defeat an ICC Full Member Zimbabwe, and led Afghanistan in achieving Full Membership.
In his international career so far, Stanikzai has played 75 One Day Internationals (ODIs), 49 T-Twenty matches, and 21 First Class matches. He has four centuries to his credit in a total run count of 3591.
ENDS
