Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan Talks About Postponed Series After Historic Win Over Australia
Kingstown [Saint Vincent], June 23: Afghanistan’s cricket team, led by captain Rashid Khan, celebrated a significant 21-run victory over Australia in the Super Eights of the ICC T20 World Cup. This win has reignited discussions about the postponed bilateral series between the two nations.
Postponed Series
Earlier this year, Cricket Australia postponed a three-match T20I series against Afghanistan due to concerns over human rights for women and girls in Afghanistan under Taliban rule. They also decided against hosting a one-off Test match for the same reasons.
Rashid Khan expressed his thoughts on the matter during the post-match press conference. He said, “We are sportsmen, and we love sports. People back home love sports. Cricket is the only source of happiness back home. If we keep that source away from us, I don’t know where Afghanistan will remain.”
He added, “We sportsmen only think about cricket. Everyone says sports bring the nation together. We are always happy to play against any side, and that is the only way our cricket can improve. Some things are not under the control of anyone in cricket, and we cannot do anything about it. Wish we could do something, and wish there was a solution for it.”
The Match
Australia won the toss and chose to bowl first. Afghanistan’s opening pair, Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran, gave a strong start with a 118-run partnership. Gurbaz scored 60 runs, and Zadran made 51 runs. Despite tight bowling from Australia, including a hat trick by Pat Cummins and a fine spell from Adam Zampa, Afghanistan managed to score 148/6 in 20 overs.
During Australia’s run-chase, they were reduced to 32/3, thanks to a fine spell by Naveen ul Haq. Glenn Maxwell tried to steady the innings with 59 runs, but Gulbadin Naib’s crucial wickets led to Australia being bowled out for 127 runs in 19.2 overs. Naib was named ‘Player of the Match’ for his match-winning spell.
Group Standings
With this win, Afghanistan is third in Group 1, while Australia is second, both with two points each. If India wins their final Super Eights game against Australia and Afghanistan beats Bangladesh by a big margin, Australia could be out of the T20 World Cup.
