Afghanistan Twenty20 captain Rashid Khan expressed his disappointment over Cricket Australia’s (CA) decision to cancel the bilateral tournament against Afghanistan due to political reasons. Rashid expressed his desire to play with Australia like to provide Afghan cricket development and promote unity among the nations has shown that the competitions are important.
In a landmark event, the Afghan team won 21 against Australia at the Arnos Vale Stadium in St. Petersburg. Vincent on Saturday, June 22. The win was Afghanistan’s first against Australia in any cricket The historic victory was celebrated by Afghan players and fans, boosting their morale in the ongoing Twenty20 World Cup 2024.
Currently, Afghanistan ranks third in Group 1 of the ICC tournament, having collected two points from two matches at a net run rate (NRR) ) of -0.650K. They started their campaign with a loss to the Rohit Sharma-led India team.
Rashid Khan said: “Sport brings the nation together. We are happy to play against any side, and that’s the only way our cricket can improve. Some things are not under the control of anyone in cricket, and that’s something we can’t do anything about.”
“I wish we could do something … but I don’t know the solution. These political things, I don’t know much about, and I don’t like it as well, so I have no answer for this.”
As the competition for a place in the semi-finals intensifies, Australia, India and Afghanistan are struggling to get out of Group 1, while Bangladesh are out of reach but still have mathematical chances. Afghanistan’s next match is against Bangladesh on Tuesday, June 25 at the Arnos Vale Stadium in Kingston.
Rashid concluded by saying: “Those things that are not under our control, and I don’t think we can bring sports into that … I don’t think cricket is the solution of politics. If we play in a World Cup, why don’t we play in a bilateral series? We are happy to play against the best sides, we learn from them, we get better day by day, but that’s the only thing I can say.”
Rashid Khan reiterated his disappointment at Cricket Australia’s refusal to participate in the bilateral tournament, acknowledging the political challenges but expressing hope for future rivalries between the teams He stressed Afghanistan’s willingness to the competition will be highlighted with all international teams. Cricket Australia has a strong position on the Taliban returning to power in August 2021.
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