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Afghanistan all-rounder Mohammad Nabi resigned from his position as Afghanistan’s captain following a close 4-run win defeat to Australia in their last Super 12s game played at the Adelaide Oval on Friday, which resulted in their campaign coming to an end in the ongoing Men’s T20 World Cup.
Nabi expressed his disappointment over the team’s preparation coming into the mega event and disagreements with the team management and the selection committee.
While chasing a total of 169, Afghanistan lost to Australia by four runs in their last Super 12 game of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022. With this narrow defeat, Afghanistan became the only team to leave the tournament without a single win with two points due to three defeats and two no-results.
— Mohammad Nabi (@MohammadNabi007) November 4, 2022
Nabi said in a statement posted on his Twitter account, “Our T20 World Cup journey came to an end, with a result that not us nor our supporters were expecting. We are as frustrated as you are with the outcome of matches.”
The skipper explained that he was not happy with the team’s preparation from last year and he was not on the same page with the team management and the selection committee which had implications for his team’s balance.
“From the last one year, our team’s preparation was not to a level that a captain would want it or needed for a big tournament. Moreover, in some of the last tours, the team management, selection committee and I were not on the same page which had implications on the team balance,” said Nabi.
“Therefore, with due respect, effectively immediately I announce to STEP DOWN as a CAPTAIN & will continue to play for my country when the management & team need me.
“I thank every single one of you from the bottom of my heart who came to the grounds despite matches being affected by the rain and those who support us worldwide, your love truly means a lot to us. Long live Afghanistan,” he added.
The 37-year-old took over as captain after Rashid Khan’s resignation before the 2021 T20 World Cup in the UAE. Nabi had previously also been named captain in 2010, replacing Nawroz Mangal.
Earlier, Rashid had announced to step down as captain just less than half an hour after the selectors had named their squad for the 2021 event, citing he had not been consulted.
Nabi’s latest tenure comprised 23 games out of which they won 10 games and lost 13. Just before the start of the T20 World Cup, Afghanistan won the initial group stage at the Asia Cup. However, they failed to qualify for the Super four stage after losing all three games.
Nabi captained Afghanistan in a total of 28 ODIs and 35 T20Is. Out of those 35 T20Is, they won 16 games under his captaincy. In his T20I career, Nabi has scored 1686 runs from 104 games at an average of 21.07 and has also taken 84 wickets at an economy of 7.31.
The veteran cricketer did not give any indication of his intention to retire while speaking at the post-match presentation and neither his resignation was mentioned by Afghanistan’s coach, Jonathon Trott in the press conference.
Nabi is the most capped player for Aghanistan and the most sought-after player in the T20I franchise circuit.
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