ACB ask Mohammad Shahzad to reside permanently in Afghanistan or have his contract terminated

Afghanistan batsman Mohammad Shahzad, who was Man of the match on two previous occasions for the Asian country, has been in the news for some time now after his impressive displays against Zimbabwe and West Indies in the recently concluded the World Cup qualifying tournament in Zimbabwe. His displays with the bat ensured that the Afghanistan ODI team would complete an impressive turnaround and qualify for next year’s ICC ODI World Cup to be played in England.

But the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) have issued a warning to their star batsman to return back to his home country after it was noted that the 30-year old was living in the neighboring city of Peshawar in Pakistan for quite some time now. The ACB this week drafted a strict policy and gave a one-month ultimatum to players who live abroad to return to Afghanistan or else have their contracts terminated.

"They [contracted players] are not allowed to travel to any country without permission.Those players who are living on foreign land are given a month to move back to Afghanistan with their families, otherwise the cricket board will terminate their contracts.

"Afghanistan Cricket Board has made a strict rule about player discipline and given them a one-month notice to adhere firmly with the policy. All players and employees should be based in Afghanistan and they are not allowed to play in any foreign country without ACB's approval," ACB chairman, Atif Mashal, told ESPNcricinfo. 

Shahzad had spent his early years in a refugee camp in Peshawar, but his parents are originally from Nangrahar, Afghanistan. The veteran batsman along with various team-mates grew up near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border and continue to reside there. Shahzad was married in Peshawar itself and spends most of his time in Pakistan. In addition to this, Shahzad was also found to be in breach of the ACB's code of conduct by playing in the local Peshawar tournament.

"He played in a club-level tournament without NOC which is against the ACB code of conduct," Mashal said.

Shahzad had missed out on national duty through much of 2017 due to an ICC suspension over a positive drug test. He returned this year to play the crucial match against Zimbabwe earlier in the month of January.

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