MONITORING (SW) – Michael Vaughan, former English captain of all formats of cricket, has urged the Afghanistan Cricket Board to reverse the controversial decision of removing Asghar Afghan from the captaincy.
The major overhaul in the leadership of the national cricket team in Afghanistan just a month ahead of the World Cup has caused a controversy with senior players such as Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi publically opposing the changes.
Vaughan told the CricBuzz this move just a month before the mega event is simply ‘bonkers’. “Over the course of the years, Afghanistan has been outstanding in international cricket”, he said. The former English captain added the ACB should not upset iconic players such as Rashid and Nabi. “They have been selling Afghan cricket all over the globe in all the leagues they have been playing in”.
With less than two months to go before World Cup 2019, the ACB removed the 31-year-old Asghar Afghan as the national team's captain and named three different captains for Tests, ODIs and T20Is. Gulbadin Naib has been named as the new ODI captain, with the 28-year-old all-rounder set to lead the team at the World Cup. Rashid Khan, who is currently turning out for SunRisers Hyderabad in IPL 2019, has been named as the new ODI vice-captain.
In Tests, the new Afghanistan captain is Rahmat Shah and the vice-captain is Hashmat Shahidi.
As part of preparations for the World Cup, Afghanistan will tour Scotland and Ireland from May 8. They will then play two warm-up matches – against Pakistan on May 24 and then against England on May 27. They will begin their World Cup campaign against Australia on June 1.
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