Twenty-year old Rashid Khan has been appointed as Afghanistan’s new captain across all three formats, while Asghar Afghan, who was sacked as captain just before the World Cup, has been named as the team’s vice-captain.
The decision of change in the captaincy has come on the back of Afghanistan’s dismal World Cup campaign under Gulbadin Naib. Naib was named as Afghanistan’s ODI captain just before the World Cup, while Rahmat Shah was leading the side in Tests. Rashid, on the other hand, was already leading the team in T20Is, but the 20-year-old has now been given the mantle in all three formats.
@rashidkhan_19 appointed as Team Afghanistan's new Captain across all three formats while Asghar Afghan appointed as Vice-Captain. pic.twitter.com/s78Nso67aF
— Afghanistan Cricket Board (@ACBofficials) July 12, 2019
Under Naib, Afghanistan lost all of their nine World Cup fixtures. And although they came close to beating India and Pakistan, they ended their campaign with zero points.
Read | A reality check for the Afghans
Their new skipper Rashid’s first assignment as a captain will come in a one-off Test against Bangladesh in September followed by a tri-series involving Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. After that, Afghanistan will play a home series against West Indies (three T20Is, three ODIs and a one-off Test) between November 5 and December 1.
Meanwhile, as far as Rashid’s World Cup tenure goes, he entered the tournament as cricket's hottest property after catching the eye with his leg spinners for minnows Afghanistan. But the leggie, who played a leading role for many sides in franchise cricket across the globe, claimed only six wickets in nine games.
Feature image courtesy: AFP / Adrian Dennis
