Afghanistan bowling all-rounder Rashid Khan has been appointed the captain of the Afghanistan Cricket Team in all the three formats, Afghanistan Cricket Board confirmed on Friday. Meanwhile, Asghar Afghan, who was sacked as captain ahead of the 2019 Cricket World Cup, will be Rashid’s deputy.
ACB took to social media platform Facebook to inform about the news.
Rashid, who already leads his side in Twenty20 Internationals, will take over the captaincy from Gulbadin Naib (ODIs) and Rahmat Shah (Tests).
The new vice-captain Asghar Afghan was previously appointed as the skipper in April 2015, having taken over the leadership role from Afghanistan’s ace all-rounder Mohammad Nabi. Under Afghan’s captaincy, Afghanistan tasted 31 victories in ODIs and 37 in T20Is. He also helped his country in registering their maiden Test win against Ireland this year. Afghan has been a regular member of the side since 2009 and has notched up 2,232 and 1,056 runs in ODIs and T20Is, respectively. However, ACB sacked him as captain just before the World Cup – a move which was highly criticised.
Meanwhile, 20-year-old Rashid Khan has been quite impressive with the ball so far, scalping 128 wickets in 62 ODIs and 75 in 38 T20Is for Afghanistan.