Afghanistan's squad for the T20 World Cup contained several players who had done well in the past, but not been part of the national set-up in recent times.
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Rashid Khan announced his decision to step down as captain, less than half an hour after Afghanistan announced their squad for the upcoming edition of the T20 World Cup. The all-rounder was named as the captain in the squad announced by the selection committee, with the team now expected to be led by Mohammad Nabi. “As the captain and responsible person for the nation | reserve the right to be part of the selection of the team. The selection committee and ACB has not obtained my consent for the team which has been announced by ACB media. l am taking the decision of stepping down from the role as the captain of Afghanistan T20 side effective immediately. It’s Always my proud playing for Afghanistan,” said Rashid in a statement on social media.
The squad comprises of several players who have not been a part of the national setup in recent years. This includes Mohammad Shahzad, Shapoor Zadran, Dawlat Zadran and Hamid Hassan. It will be interesting to see if there are any changes to the squad following Rashid’s outburst.
Squad named by ACB: Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Karim Janat, Hazratullah Zazai, Gulbadin Naib, Usman Ghani, Naveen ul Haq, Asghar Afghan, Hamid Hassan, Mohammad Nabi, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Najibullah Zadran, Dawlat Zadran, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Shapoor Zadran, Mohammad Shahzad (wk), Qais Ahmad.
Reserves: Afsar Zazai, Fareed Ahmad.
South Africa’s squad for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 witnessed some shocking decisions with all-rounder Chris Morris, former captain Faf du Plessis, and veteran leg-spinner Imran Tahir among those not included. Du Plessis and Tahir had retired from other forms of the game, with the objective of featuring in the upcoming edition of the T20 World Cup.
Temba Bavuma will be leading the team, which includes Keshav Maharaj, the left-arm spinner who is yet to play a T20I. Quinton de Kock, Henrich Klaasen, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Kagiso Rabada and Tabraiz Shamsi will look to make their presence felt.
“Kesh is an excellent leader. He has the backing of the team and us as a panel. He has more than proven his leadership skills in the Dolphins set up and reinforced our good decision during the ODI series against Sri Lanka which ended on Tuesday, His exemplary captaincy is what we believe is in the best interests of the team’s stability during this last international series that the team gets to play ahead of the World Cup,” said CSA’s convenor of selectors Victor Mpitsang.
“There is no better time than now for us to bring home the trophy, and bring the nation together in a way that only sport can. We hope that South Africans will rally behind this team and cheer them all the way to the final,” he added.
Full squad: Temba Bavuma (c), Keshav Maharaj, Quinton de Kock (wk), Bjorn Fortuin, Reeza Hendricks, Heinrich Klaasen, Aiden Markram, David Miller, W Mulder, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Rassie van der Dussen.
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