Asghar regains Afghanistan captaincy

KABUL: Asghar Afghan, who was removed as Afghanistan captain ahead of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2019, is back as the team’s skipper across formats.

The Afghanistan Cricket Board Wednesday said in a sh­ort statement on social media, “As per the decision by ACB top management, se­n­ior player Asghar Afghan is re­appointed as team Afg­hanistan’s captain across formats.”

This is the latest in a series of leadership changes in the team, with Afghan taking over from Rashid Khan this time.

Despite leading the side to their first Test win, against Ireland, Afghan had been removed as captain less than two months before the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2019. The board had in April decided to go with split captaincy, putting Rahmat Shah in charge of Tests, while naming Gulbadin Naib for ODIs and Rashid for T20Is.

The move had prompted criticism from within the team, with Rashid and senior member Mohammad Nabi among those vocal in their support of Afghan, and bemoaning the instability just before the 50-over tournament in England.

As it happened, Afgha­n­is­tan struggled on the big stage, finishing last and without a win. The results prompted the board to re-evaluate the split captaincy system, after which 20-year-old Rashid was handed the reins of all formats. As part of that announcement in July, Afghan was named his deputy.

Rashid has enjoyed some success as skipper, leading the team to a memorable Test win against Bangladesh, and sealing T20I series victory against West Indies.