06/03/2026
More than 19 hours have passed since the cricket board has announced Ibrahim Zadran as the skipper of the T20I squad but sadly are yet to thank Rashid Khan for his services. Based on this marker itself it can be easily concluded how ungrateful & unprofessional this organization behaves. The reasons cited for this sudden change of leadership doesn't make any credible sense. Let's decode this through another angle. Fazalhaq Farooqi & Gulbadin Naib are dropped from the squad due to poor performances in the world cup. Fair enough call. But whom do the selectors fall back on. They replaced Fazal with Farid Malik & Naib with Sharafuddin Ashraf who are even worse choices. Not that these two have made killer performances in domestic & international events but also they have been tried & tested on numerous occasions before but couldn't justify their inclusions with match winning contributions. Farid Malik & Sharafuddin are well past their thirties, have nothing to show in their CV's & definitely cannot be looked as future of Afghanistan cricket. They are nothing but products of nepotism & favouritism & are not worth a penny.
Ibrahim is one of the finest players to have played for Afghanistan. He is dependable & consistent. Time was apt to make him the skipper of ODI's & Tests looking at building a strong & modern team for the upcoming 2027 World Cup. But instead the board made him the T20I skipper where he is still a work in progress. Ironically, Hashmatullah Shahidi, whose technique, intent & strike rate was always under the radar has been reinstated as the ODI skipper. These crazy irrational steps makes you believe that this board behaves like a headless chicken where vision is an alien thing in their priority.
Rashid had flaws in his captaincy. But he is a star performer & no one can deny that. At least he used to set examples as a leader through consistent performances but the board needed a yes man for their job. If Ibrahim wants to go ahead with non performers like Farid Malik & Sharafuddin, then he should be ready to face media backlashes for promoting mediocrity by sacrificing national interests.
Share your thoughts.
Mirwais Ashraf Sayed Naseem Sadaat سیدنسیم سادات Mir Mubarez Raees Ahmadzai Hamid Hassan Nawroz Mangal
