Nabi to captain T20 World Cup team after Rashid Khan steps down

Mohammad Nabi said he has been named Afghanistan skipper for the upcoming T20 World Cup after Rashid Khan unexpectedly stepped down as captain on Thursday.

Rashid issued a statement on Twitter Thursday announcing his decision which he said was in protest against the selection of the national squad that was done without his input.

The all-rounder announced the news minutes after the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) confirmed their World Cup squad.

“The selection committee and ACB has not obtained my consent for the team which has been announced by ACB media,” he said in a statement on social media.

“As the captain and responsible person for the nation I reserve the right to be part of the selection of the team.

“I am taking the decision of stepping down from the role as the captain of Afghanistan T20 side effective immediately,” Rashid stated.

The ACB is yet to officially announce Nabi’s appointment as captain but the 36-year-old all-rounder tweeted that he has been chosen to lead the team.

“At this critical stage, I admire the decision of ACB for the announcement of leading the National Cricket Team in T20 Format,” Nabi said.

“InshaAllah together we will present a great picture of the Nation in the upcoming T20 World Cup,” he added.The T20 World Cup is scheduled to be held in the UAE and Oman from October 17 to November 14.

T20 Squad: Rashid Khan, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Hazratullah Zazai, Usman Ghani, Asghar Afghan, Mohammad Nabi, Najibullah Zadran, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Mohammad Shahzad, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Karim Janat, Gulbadin Naib, Naveen ul Haq, Hamid Hassan, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Dawlat Zadran, Shapoor Zadran, Qais Ahmed

Reserves: Afsar Zazai, Farid Ahmed Malik