T20 World Cup 2021: Asghar Afghan announces retirement from international cricket
Asghar Afghan has won 42 T20Is out of 52 as captain.
Former Afghanistan captain Asghar Afghan has announced his retirement from international cricket and will play his last game against Namibia on Sunday. He has represented his country in six Tests, 114 ODIs and will call time on his career after 75 T20Is.
The 33-year-old Afghan has been an ardent servant of Afghanistan cricket playing a pivotal role in the rise of Afghanistan’s cricket. Asghar Afghan was the first Afghanistan Test captain when they made their debut against India in 2018. He led the side to two wins and two losses while he was at the helm of the Test side. In 59 ODIs as the skipper, Afghan pocketed 34 wins and 21 losses in 59 matches while he won 42 off the 52 matches as T20Is captain.
Afghanistan’s ex captain Asghar Afghan who holds the highest winning streak as a captain in T20 internationals surpassing Indian legend Ms Dhoni by one extra win, decides to bid farewell with all formats of cricket in Afghanistan’s third match against Namibia at @T20WorldCup.
1/1 pic.twitter.com/4nxfeoctjj— Afghanistan Cricket Board (@ACBofficials) October 30, 2021
Asghar Afghan was appointed captain in place of Mohammad Nabi soon after the 2015 World Cup. He was replaced as captain by Gulbadin Naib ahead of the 2019 World Cup. In December 2019, Afghan was reinstated as the captain but was once again removed in May this year.
So far, he has accumulated 4215 in international cricket including two centuries. His only ODI hundred came against Ireland in 2017 when he scored 101 and helped Afghanistan secure a 34-run win. Asghar Afghan scored his highest Test score (164) against Zimbabwe during the record 307-run partnership with Hashmatullah Shahidi. This was also his last Test match.
Asghar Afghan, meanwhile, holds the record of most T20I wins as captain when Afghanistan defeated Zimbabwe in Abu Dhabi in March this year. He went past MS Dhoni record of 41 wins. The right-handed batsman also holds the record for most consecutive matches for a captain (46) in T20Is.
Afghan will hope to sign off with outstanding performance when Afghanistan play Namibia in the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 to keep themselves floating for a semifinal berth.
