The Taliban fired the Afghanistan Cricket Board’s director Hamid Shinwari. Hamid Shinwari posted on his official Facebook page, on Monday, that he had been sacked by Anas Haqqani, the younger brother of the Taliban’s new Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani. Shinwari said that he was not given any reason for his dismissal. However, he was told that he would be replaced by Naseebullah Haqqani.

As per an Associated Press report, it is yet to be ascertained if the new Afghanistan Cricket Board chief is a relative of Sirajuddin Haqqani, who is sought by the FBI for questioning in connection with several high-profile attacks on Kabul during the Taliban’s 20-year war with successive US-backed governments.

The Taliban took control of Afghanistan on August 15, 2021, after storming Kabul and successfully seizing it. In its press conference, the Taliban said that it will more tolerant than what it was the last time they ruled the country. However, in recent days, they have been outrightly backtracking on their promises, leaving the world leaders unimpressed.

The Taliban’s order banning women from sports — including cricket — has caused an international backlash. The Australian Cricket Board last week canceled a match with Afghanistan’s cricket team to protest the banning of women from sports in Afghanistan.

The official Facebook page of the Afghanistan Cricket Board also announced Naseebullah Haqqani as the new executive director.

Earlier in August, Azizullah Fazli was named the cricket board’s chairman and was named in-charge of overseeing ACB’s upcoming competitions.

Earlier Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan relinquished his captaincy after an 18-man squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup was announced. He said that the ACB should’ve consulted him before announcing the squad.

“As captain and responsible person for the nation I reserve the right to be part of the selection of the team,” Rashid Khan said on Twitter.

“The selection committee and ACB has not obtained my consent for the team which has been announced… I’m taking the decision of stepping down from the role as the captain of Afghanistan T20 side effective immediately.”