Afghanistan batsman Gulbadin Naib has replaced injured Hazratullah Zazai in their squad at the Twenty20 World Cup, tournament organisers said on Monday. Naib was with the team as a travelling reserve and could be included in the team’s fourth Super 12 match against Sri Lanka in Brisbane on Tuesday.
Zazai was ruled out due to an abdominal muscle strain, the International Cricket Council said. He made seven in Afghanistan’s opening loss to England before their next two matches were abandoned without a ball being bowled, leaving them bottom of Group 1 led by New Zealand.
In order for Afghanistan to have any hope of making it to the semifinals, they must win their next match against Sri Lanka on Tuesday in Brisbane and their tournament-ending match against Australia on Friday in Adelaide.
The only team in Australia without a win is Mohammad Nabi‘s group, but they have been a little unlucky since they have taken part in two games that have been called off due to rain without a ball being bowled.
Zazai managed just seven runs against England during the only match Afghanistan have been able to complete at the T20 World Cup, with the left-hander dismissed courtesy of a brilliant catch from Liam Livingstone.
Promoted
Afghanistan squad: Mohammad Nabi (c), Najibullah Zadran, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Azmatullah Omarzai, Darwish Rasooli, Fareed Ahmad Malik, Fazal Haq Farooqi, Ibrahim Zadran, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Naveen ul Haq, Qais Ahmad, Rashid Khan, Salim Safi, Gulbadin Naib, Usman Ghani. Standby Players: Afsar Zazai, Sharafuddin Ashraf and Rahmat Shah.
With ANI inputs
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