Asghar Afghan replaces Rashid Khan as Afghanistan captain: Details here
What's the story
Afghanistan have re-appointed Asghar Afghan as the captain of the national team for all formats, as he replaces Rashid Khan. Rashid was made the captain of the side following the 2019 ICC World Cup after the side had lost all their matches under the leadership of Gulbadin Naib. Meanwhile, Afghan was stripped of his captaincy duties in May. Here are further details.
Twitter Post
ACB confirm Afghan's re-appointment as Afghanistan captain
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
Criticisms
Afghan's captaincy snub was criticized by team members
Following Afghan's snub of captaincy in May, the decision was met with widespread criticisms, as team members Mohammad Nabi and Rashid had expressed their displeasure on the same. "With just months to go for such a mega event like World Cup, changing the captain will cause uncertainty and also team morale will be affected," Rashid had said back then.
Afghan's stint
Afghanistan had a successful stint under Afghan
Considering Afghan's stint with the side as their captain, it was a fruitful one. He has led the side in 104 matches, winning 69 and losing 31, while they have a win-loss ratio of 2.22. While he has led the side in just two Tests so far, his most successful stint was in the ODIS, leading in 56 matches and winning 31 (Ratio: 1.47).
Rashid's stint
Rashid had a poor stint as Afghanistan captain
As far as Rashid's stint as the captain is concerned, it has certainly been poor. In 16 matches across formats, his side has managed to win just six and losing the rest. His most poor stint was in the 50-overs format, having led in seven matches, winning one and losing the remainder of the six. In T20Is, he has won four out of seven.
Next venture
Afghanistan to play next series in March 2020
As of now, Afghanistan are not scheduled to play any series before March 2020, when they take on Ireland in a home series, in India, which consists of a Test and three ODIs. Recently, they are coming off a series, in India, against Windies, where they lost 0-3 in the ODIs, followed by a 2-1 win in the T20Is, before losing the one-off Test.