Senior players were deliberately under-performing at the World Cup, says Gulbadin Naib

Deputized to be captain for a brief period including the World Cup, all-rounder Naib was left disappointed after Afghanistan’s poor showing in the premier tournament. Although they came close to beating India and Pakistan, returning home with zero wins, despite being the minnows, was hard to take. 

And it seems that the captain has called out the senior men in the side who did not step up.

“We depend mostly on seniors in the World Cup, but they were deliberately not performing, not giving attention to me, they were laughing instead of being sad after defeats & even not looking at me when asked to bowl,” Naib has allegedly been quoted as saying by a senior Afghan journalist, reported Indian Express.

Leading up to the big event, Afghan’s long-time captain Ashgar Afghan was replaced by Naib only in April. Naib’s lack of experience in leadership had been a major talking point in the country’s growing cricketing fraternity. Established players Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi were among those who slammed the timing of the decision to change the captaincy.

“With just months to go for such a mega event like the World Cup, changing the captain will cause uncertainty and also team morale will be affected,” Khan had tweeted.