Afghanistan have been forced to change their squad at the ongoing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup with the team losing hard-hitting opener Hazratullah Zazai to injury.
Zazai, whose stunning 162* against Ireland in Dehradun in 2019 maintains the record for the second-highest total in men’s T20I cricket, has been battling kidney concerns and has been ruled out for the remainder of the tournament. Gulbadin Naib, an experienced hitter who is already in Australia and will get the opportunity to play in this tournament, has taken his position in Afghanistan’s 15-player squad.
In order for Afghanistan to have any hope of making it to the semifinals, they must win their next match against Sri Lanka on Tuesday in Brisbane and their tournament-ending match against Australia on Friday in Adelaide. The only team in Australia without a win is Mohammad Nabi’s group, but they have been a little unlucky since they have taken part in two games that have been called off due to rain without a ball being bowled.
Zazai managed just seven runs against England during the only match Afghanistan have been able to complete at the T20 World Cup, with the left-hander dismissed courtesy of a brilliant catch from Liam Livingstone.Afghanistan squad: Mohammad Nabi (c), Najibullah Zadran, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Azmatullah Omarzai, Darwish Rasooli, Fareed Ahmad Malik, Fazal Haq Farooqi, Ibrahim Zadran, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Naveen ul Haq, Qais Ahmad, Rashid Khan, Salim Safi, Gulbadin Naib, Usman Ghani. Standby Players: Afsar Zazai, Sharafuddin Ashraf and Rahmat Shah.