After some recent disappointing performances in international cricket, Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) has decided to reappoint Asghar Afghan as the national team captain for all the international cricket formats.
Before the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019, Asghar Afghan was leading the Afghanistan national cricket team in every format. But suddenly, in a surprising way, just before the CWC 2019 team selection, the ACB removed Asghar Afghan from the captaincy role in every format. Many teammates were shocked in that decision and openly criticised the ACB for taking that big decision just before a big tournament.
Gulbadin Naib led the Afghanistan team in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019, and they finished that tournament without winning a game as they suffered defeats in all the nine matches. After the dismal performances in that tournament, Naib was sacked from the ODI captaincy role and the T20I captain Rashid Khan was appointed as the captain in every format.
Though Rashid Khan-led Afghanistan team won a Test against the hosts Bangladesh and won a three-match T20I series against Windies in India, the ACB hasn’t impressed much with the team’s performances, especially in the recent Test and ODI cricket. Most recently, Windies beat Rashid Khan-led Afghanistan in the one-off Test and three-match ODI series in India.
Asghar Afghan has led Afghanistan in 104 internationals
Now, the national cricket board has decided to bring back Asghar Afghan for the leadership role of the team in every international cricket format. Asghar Afghan is the most experienced and successful international captain for Afghanistan. He has led the team in 104 international matches where his team has won 69 matches and lost 31 games.
As per the decision by ACB Top management , Senior player Asghar Afghan is reappointed as team Afghanistan's Captain across formats.
— Afghanistan Cricket Board (@ACBofficials) December 11, 2019
After Mohammad Nabi (202 matches), Asghar Afghan is the second most experienced international cricketer for Afghanistan. Afghan has played 181 international matches (4 Tests, 111 ODIs and 66 T20Is) where he has scored 3,772 runs (average 23.72) and also taken four wickets.