Sport
Farooqi, Naveen back in Afghanistan squad; Mujeeb omitted for series against UAE
Fast bowlers Naveen-ul-Haq and Fazalhaq Farooqi are in the squad for the three-match T20I series against UAE, but spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman has been left out.
This comes after the trio had been sanctioned by the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) earlier this week after they expressed a desire to be left out of the central contracts list for 2024.
The ACB had said then that the players were being pulled up for “prioritising their personal interests over playing for Afghanistan”, with the fallout including no no-objection certificates (NOCs) being issued to the trio to play in overseas T20 leagues for the next two years, and a revoking of any NOCs they currently possess.
The ACB also said it “would assess and determine the involvement of these players in [international] events as necessary”.
Now, the board said, Farooqi and Naveen had “approached the ACB and demonstrated a strong desire to represent their country again”.
In a statement announcing the squad, the ACB said it “acknowledged and praised their eagerness to collaborate closely with the [board]”, but the investigation into the matter that the board had ordered would go ahead.
“The ACB directed the relevant committee assigned to the matter to conduct a comprehensive investigation and urged them to communicate their findings and proposed solutions to the board after thoroughly assessing the players’ requests,” the statement said.
Meanwhile, T20I captain Rashid Khan, who had recently undergone back surgery, will miss out on the UAE series. Ibrahim Zadran is standing in for him. However, Rashid travelled with the squad as a reserve.
Mujeeb on the other hand is currently with Melbourne Renegades at the Big Bash League (BBL) in Australia. He helped them to their first win of the season on Friday, the same day as the first Afghanistan vs UAE T20I match in Sharjah.
ESPNcricinfo reports that Renegades said after the ACB sanctions that Mujeeb would remain at the BBL for the rest of the season. “The Melbourne Renegades are aware of the matter between Mujeeb Ur Rahman and the Afghanistan Cricket Board,” the Renegades statement had said.
“The club has received no communication that Mujeeb’s availability for the BBL could change from original plans. Mujeeb remains available for the Melbourne Renegades… Mujeeb is a world-class player and a popular member of the squad, and the club will continue to support him for the rest of the BBL season,” the statement read.
Mujeeb, regular on the T20 circuit, was recently picked up by Kolkata Knight Riders at the IPL auction for USD 241,000. Naveen is with Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL, and Farooqi, retained by Sunrisers Hyderabad, recently featured in the Abu Dhabi T10 competition. All three players also featured for Afghanistan at the 2023 World Cup.
Afghanistan’s squad for T20Is vs UAE:
Ibrahim Zadran (capt), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Mohammad Ishaq (wk), Hazratullah Zazai, Sediqullah Atal, Rahmat Shah, Darwish Rasooli, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Karim Janat, Azmaullah Omarzai, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Fareed Ahmad, Naveen Ul Haq, Noor Ahmad, Mohammad Saleem and Qais Ahmad
Reserves: Rashid Khan, Ijaz Ahmad Ahmadzai, Ikram Alikhil and Gulbadin Naib
Sport
International figures congratulate Rashid Khan on historic T20 milestone
Richard Lindsay, the United Kingdom’s Special Envoy to Afghanistan, highlighted Rashid Khan’s historic feat of reaching 700 wickets in T20 cricket, calling it a major world record.
Following a landmark achievement in world cricket, Rashid Khan, the star of Afghanistan’s national team, has received congratulatory messages from prominent international figures.
Zalmay Khalilzad, the former US Special Representative for Afghanistan, praised Rashid Khan’s latest success, describing him as a source of pride for Afghanistan and applauded his continued excellence on the global stage.
Meanwhile, Richard Lindsay, the United Kingdom’s Special Envoy to Afghanistan, highlighted Rashid Khan’s historic feat of reaching 700 wickets in T20 cricket, calling it a major world record.
Lindsay also welcomed the recent victories by Afghanistan and England at the T20 World Cup and wished further success to Afghanistan, England and Scotland in the remaining group matches.
Rashid Khan, widely regarded as one of the finest spin bowlers in modern cricket, has played a decisive role in Afghanistan’s rise in international cricket.
His consistent performances across major global leagues and international tournaments have strengthened Afghanistan’s position in the sport. With 700 T20 wickets to his name, Rashid Khan has further cemented his status as a legend of the shortest format of the game.
Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan says his team’s dramatic Super Over loss to South Africa in Ahmedabad has reopened memories of their painful defeat to Australia at the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023—a result he admits “never goes out of the mind.”
Rashid, speaking in Delhi ahead of Afghanistan’s T20 World Cup 2026 match against UAE, said the team tried to unwind after the nail-biting defeat by ordering Peshawari food late at night, Espncricinfo reported.
”We were in Ahmedabad and we told the manager to order food. Peshawari food: their dal bukhara, dal makhani, I told him to order that and bring some tandoori chicken so that we can vent our anger on that,” Rashid said.
“No one should say that he did this or he did that because it brings negativity in the team,” he said. “No one has lost, just our team has lost. We put in a lot of effort, but we never blame any player for being in a Super Over. I always tell everyone that as a captain I don’t want to hear any of these things. It disappoints me more than the game when you’re blaming the players. We all put in the effort.”
Rashid admitted the loss has been difficult to shake.
“To be honest, it’s pretty hard,” he said. “It’s very, very hard to lose that game where we had it in our hand a couple of times and then it just slips off your hand and it disappoints you. It doesn’t go away from your mind. Like, the game we played against Australia in the 2023 World Cup at Wankhede, it never goes out of the mind, until we won against them in the 2024 World Cup. And then slowly it got out of the mind.”
He recalled gathering the team that night in Mumbai for a late dinner and a message of unity. “We had a good dinner and just talked positively, just to keep supporting each other. I feel like this is so important.”
Rashid said maintaining performance levels despite setbacks is part of the challenge. “It is quite challenging, I feel like out of 100 times, if you got the success 99 times, the one time you don’t get it, people will talk about that one time, and they forget (the good results) and that’s something which is more challenging.”
A reporter’s suggestion that he visit Lajpat Nagar for Afghan food brought a final smile. “Before, we used to go when we weren’t very famous,” Rashid joked. “Now it’s a bit difficult.”
Afghanistan national cricket team kept their T20 World Cup 2026 hopes alive with a hard-fought five-wicket victory over the United Arab Emirates national cricket team in Delhi on Monday, chasing down 161 with four balls to spare.
Batting first, UAE posted 160 for 9, anchored by an impressive 68 from Sohaib Khan, whose counterattacking innings held the innings together. Alishan Sharafu added a valuable 40, helping UAE recover from early setbacks. For Afghanistan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Azmatullah Omarzai claimed two wickets each, while disciplined spells from the rest of the attack kept the total within reach.
Afghanistan’s chase began poorly as Rahmanullah Gurbaz departed for a duck, but Ibrahim Zadran steadied the innings with a composed 53 off 41 balls. Darwish Rasooli’s 33 ensured the target remained manageable before Omarzai delivered the decisive blow.
Completing a standout all-round performance, Azmatullah Omarzai smashed an unbeaten 40 off 21 deliveries, guiding Afghanistan to 162 for 5 and sealing a much-needed victory. Mohammad Nabi supported him at the other end as Afghanistan crossed the line comfortably in the end.
The win puts Afghanistan on two points—still facing long odds of reaching the Super Eights. To go through, they now depend on a combination of favourable results elsewhere in the group. But for the moment, the team has kept its World Cup campaign alive, doing just enough under pressure in Delhi to remain in contention.
Afghanistan will face Canada in their next game on Thursday.
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