Afghanistan cricketer Rashid Khan stepped down from his T20 captaincy
position with immediate effect on Thursday. His decision came minutes after the Afghanistan
cricket board (ACB) announced the squad for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup.

The 22-year-old spin bowler wrote in a post on
Twitter, “As the captain and responsible person for the nation, I reserve
the right to be part of the selection of the team.”

Also Read: T20 World Cup: BCCI receives ‘Conflict of Interest’ complaint against MS Dhoni

“The selection committee and ACB (Afghanistan
Cricket Board) has not obtained my consent for the team which has been
announced by ACB media. I am taking the decision of stepping down from the role
as captain of Afghanistan T20 side effective immediately.”

“It’s always my pride playing for
Afghanistan.”

Afghanistan cricket board announced an 18-member
squad for the forthcoming tournament in UAE, through their official Twitter
handle.

Rashid Khan was named as the skipper. Veteran wicket-keeper
batsman Mohammad Shahzad, who was dropped from the team in the middle of the
2019 World Cup citing injury, made his way back to the team. Afasr
Zazai and uncapped player Farid Ahmad Malik were announced as the two standby
players.

Also Read: BCCI chief selector on why Yuzvendra Chahal didn’t make the India WT20 squad

Meanwhile, the International Cricket Council (ICC)
indicated concern over women’s cricket in Afghanistan, following media claims
that the Taliban are refusing to allow women to play the sport.

It has led Cricket Australia (CA) to
state that the planned men’s Test match against Afghanistan in November
will be canceled if the country does not support women’s cricket in the aftermath of the Taliban takeover.

“Driving the growth of women’s cricket globally is
incredibly important to Cricket Australia. Our vision for cricket is that it is
a sport for all and we support the game unequivocally for women at every level,”
Cricket Australia is mentioned in its official statement.

Also Read: Australia to cancel Afghanistan men’s test if Taliban bans women’s cricket

The Taliban’s decision on women’s sport was “deeply
concerning,” according to Australia‘s Sports Minister Richard Colbeck, who
encouraged organizations like the International Cricket Council to intervene.