ICC World Cup 2019 | I don’t play for Gulabdin Naib or the cricket board, quips Rashid Khan

Probably his country’s most famous player, Rashid Khan became one of the centerpieces of a controversy that has caused conflicts in the national team for the past two months.  Ashgar Afghan, Afghanistan’s captain in all three formats since April 2015 was given the axe almost exactly four years later and Gulabdin Naib was named his successor. Having led the nation to 31 wins in ODIs in his tenure, Afghan was a very respected figure and the move ahead of cricket’s most prestigious tournament had been criticized by Rashid Khan previously.  

“I think there is no problem in my relationship with Gulbadin. I support him as much as I did when Asghar was the captain. If I supported Asghar 50 per cent on the field, Gulbadin has my 100 per cent support,” the 20 year old told PTI in an exclusive interview.

The tweet had stated that the change would affect team morale ahead of the World Cup considering the team had gelled very well under Afghan. He labelled the decision ‘irresponsible and biased’ and called for Afghan to be reinstated his captain, claiming it was ‘instrumental to the team’s success.’

“Right from time we landed in England, no one has spoken about the issue. I think it was blown out of proportion by the media. Some of us have been playing together for 15-16 years. So if nothing has happened in more than a decade, then what can suddenly change in a day or two,” Rashid explained the situation dismissing rumours of infighting in the dressing room.

Senior player and former captain Mohammad Nabi had also posted a similar tweet directed against the board. Considering Khan himself has been made captain in the shortest format, it seems pretty clear he was against the idea rather than the appointed personnel. Hence, he stuck to his grounds while clarifying his stance.

“Neither do I play for Gulbadin nor for the cricket board. I play for the flag, for Afghanistan. I know what my job is and I will continue doing that. That tweet by me or Nabi, wasn’t in support of Asghar. We raised our voice for the betterment of Afghanistan cricket. Had someone else been appointed captain, my stand wouldn’t have changed,” Khan said.

Afghanistan have lost all five of their matches in the World Cup so far and though hypothetical, maybe the country would have performed better had the last moment decision not meddled with the team’s affairs and affected them in the first place. 

“We were going to play a big event like the World Cup. The combination didn’t seem like Asia Cup and if you tinker with the combination before a big tournament, it’s not a great thing. That was the reason for the tweet,” Rashid Khan concluded.