Afghanistan STAR takes a break from international cricket, blames “corrupt leadership” for his decision

Star Afghanistan player has decided to step away from international cricket as ACB ignores him for Bangladesh series.

Afghanistan STAR takes a break from international cricket, blames “corrupt leadership” for his decision

Rashid Khan, Usman Ghani, Noor Ali Zadran (Images via Espncricinfo)

In what comes as a shocking development in Afghanistan cricket, the team’s star player Usman Ghani has decided to take a break from international cricket. Ghani has blamed the “corrupt leadership” for his decision to stay away from the team. The opening batter announced his decision on Twitter on Monday (3 July). 

As Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) recently announced the squads for Bangladesh white-ball series, Ghani missed out. In fact, the 26-year-old opening batter last represented Afghanistan at the international level back in March 2023 when Ghani played in the T20I series against Pakistan. Since then, he has failed to make the cut into the main squad. 

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These continuous exclusions made Usman Ghani unhappy who tried to find out the reason. However, to his disappointment, Ghani could not meet the Chairman of ACB. Meanwhile, he found the Chief Selector’s reasoning for his exclusion unsatisfactory. 

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Usman Ghani promises to return only when there is a change at the helm

usman ghani batting
Usman Ghani (Image via ESPNcricinfo)

The 26-year-old further said that he will continue to work hard and will only return to playing cricket when the right management and selection committee will be in place. 

“After careful consideration, I have decided to take a break from Afghanistan Cricket. The corrupt leadership in the cricket board has compelled me to step back. I will continue my hard work and eagerly await the right management and selection committee to be put in place,” announced Ghani. 

“Once that happens, I will proudly return to play for Afghanistan. Until then, I am backing myself from representing my beloved nation. Despite multiple visits, I couldn’t meet the chairman as he remained unavailable. Moreover, the chief selector had no satisfactory response for my exclusion from all formats,” he added. 

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