The former Afghanistan pacer, Mirwais Ashraf, is set to continue as the new chairman of the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) for the upcoming three years. The reports have confirmed that a top official of the board has confirmed the development.
The former international, Mirwais Ashraf, who was appointed the chairman of the ACB in 2021, was expected to end his tenure in August 2023. The 35-year-old has played nearly seven years for the country, earning decent success with the ball.
The right-arm pacer featured in 45 ODI innings, where he has picked up 46 wickets at an average of under 30 and a strike rate of nearly seven overs at an economy rate of over four, with a best bowling figure of 4/35. In the shortest format of the game, he has captured 14 scalps in 22 games at an economy of under seven.
Mirwais Ashraf to remain ACB Chairman till 2027
The veteran was supposed to leave his position after the three-year tenure, but the Taliban government has extended his new term for the position.
“Due to his performance for the last three years, the Taliban government extended Mirwais Ashraf’s new term as the chairman of the Afghanistan cricket board for three more years.” The ACB official expressed.
The last few months have been quite successful for the side. Under the captaincy of their most renowned player, Rashid Khan, Afghanistan got the better of Australia during the super eight stages of the recently concluded Men’s T20 World Cup in the West Indies and the United States of America (USA). The victory pushed them into the semifinal of the event, where they lost to South Africa in Trinidad.
The official reflected that stability has been a key to success and they want to value the same by retaining Mirwais Ashraf as the chairman.
“Look, (the) stability is key to our success and we try to value it. During the last three years, we had one chairman, one CEO, and one coach and we changed our captain only once as we feel that if we want to develop as a cricketing nation, we need to put a major focus on stability and don’t try to go for chopping and changing.” The official noted.
It has also been reported that the Patron-in-chief of Afghanistan, Mullah Muhammad Hassan, the Prime Minister of the country, decided to extend the tenure of Mirwais Ashraf for three more years. The latter, who was initially appointed as the head of the board, later got elected to continue the work.
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The Kunduz-born will now be running the board until December when the election will take place in the Annual General Meeting. It has been known that the Patron-in-chief is backing the former pacer for the position, which he is expected to win without facing any trouble when the next election occurs in December.
Afghanistan will play their history one-off Test against New Zealand in the second week of September at Greater Noida before they host South Africa for a three-match ODI series from September 18 in Sharjah as a preparation for the upcoming Champions Trophy 2025, scheduled to occur in Pakistan.