Former Afghanistan captain Asghar Afghan was given a guard of honor by the Namibian team in their farewell match on Sunday. The 33-year-old scored 31 runs in his last innings for Afghanistan.
Namibian captain Gerhard Erasmus (centre) congratulated Afghanistan’s Asghar Afghan as he went to bat after announcing his retirement from all international cricket (Image courtesy: AFP)
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- Former Afghanistan captain Asghar Afghan receives guard of honor from Namibia
- Asghar Afghan played a brilliant innings of 31 off 23 balls in his last outing for Afghanistan
- I want to give chance to the youth. I think this is a good opportunity for him: Afghani
In his farewell match, former Afghanistan captain Asghar Afghan received a guard of honor from Namibian players during their match in Namibia on Sunday.
Asghar Afghan scored 31 (3×4, 1×6) in 23 balls in his last outing for Afghanistan.
Asghar was quite emotional while talking to the broadcasters.
What a career for Asghar Afghan!#T20World Cup https://t.co/HNKGMe65dv
— T20 World Cup (@T20WorldCup) 31 October 2021
He said, ‘I want to give a chance to the youth. I think this is a good opportunity for him,” Afghan told the broadcaster.
Asked why he decided to retire in the middle of the tournament, he said: “Most people are asking me why now, but it’s something I can’t explain. We got hurt a lot in the last match and that’s why I decided to retire.
“There are so many memories, it’s difficult for me, but I have to retire.”
Earlier today, former Afghanistan captain Asghar Afghan announced his retirement from all forms of the game after the T20 World Cup meeting with Namibia on Sunday, the country’s cricket board said on Twitter.
Former Afghanistan captain Asghar Afghan, who holds the highest winning streak as captain in T20 Internationals, surpassed Indian legend MS Dhoni by an extra win, in Afghanistan’s third match against Namibia in all forms of cricket. Decided to bid farewell together. @T20WorldCup,
1/1 pic.twitter.com/4nxfeoctjj— Afghanistan Cricket Board (@ACBofficials) October 30, 2021
The 33-year-old Afghan – formerly known as Asghar Stanikzai – made his international debut in 2009 in a one-day game against Scotland in Benoni and scored 2,424 runs in 114 matches in the 50-over format at an average of 24.73.
He has scored 1,351 runs in 74 T20 Internationals at an average of 21.79 and played in the team’s defeat to Pakistan in the World Cup on Friday.
Afghan captained his country in his first Test match in Bengaluru in 2018 and played six matches in the longest format of the game, scoring 440 runs.
The Afghanistan Cricket Board said it welcomes and respects Afghan’s decision and thanked him for his service. “Young Afghan cricketers will have to work hard to fill their niche.
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