Unhappy Rashid Khan steps down as Afghanistan captain ahead of T20 World Cup

Rashid Khan stepped down as Afghanistan’s Twenty20 captain on Thursday, claiming he was not consulted by the selectors while they were finalising the team for next month’s T20 World Cup. Afghanistan’s selectors have named veterans Shapoor Zadran and wicketkeeper Mohammad Shahzad in the squad along with injury-prone fast bowler Hamid Hassan. “The selection committee and ACB (Afghanistan Cricket Board) has not obtained my consent for the team which has been announced by ACB media,” Rashid said in a tweet, moments after the ACB tweeted the 18-member squad and also named two reserve players. “As the captain and responsible person for the nation I reserve the right to be part of the selection of the team,” Rashid said. “I am taking the decision of stepping down from the role as the captain of Afghanistan T20 side effective immediately.” [caption id=“attachment_8939871” align=“alignnone” width=“640”]  File image of Rashid Khan. Image courtesy: Twitter @StrikersBBL[/caption] Rashid, who is the world’s top-ranked bowler in Twenty20s, was named Afghanistan captain for the T20 World Cup in July. His deputy Najibullah Zadran was included in the 18-member squad. Afghanistan have directly qualified for the Super 12 stage of the T20 World Cup and are placed in Group 2 alongside Pakistan, New Zealand and the two qualifiers.