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Rashid Khan Gets Another Bite Of The Cherry Appointed Afghanistans T20i Captain

Rashid Khan gets another bite of the cherry, appointed Afghanistan’s T20I captain

The International Cricket Council’s T20 cricketer of the Decade awardee Afghanistan sensation, Rashid Khan has been appointed as the captain of the national team in the shortest format. The Afghanistan Cricket Board, in a media release, also confirmed that experienced batter Najibullah Zadran would be Rashid’s deputy.

The release also confirmed that ACB Chairman Farhan Yousefzai took the decision to replace Asghar Afghan as the national team’s skipper keeping in mind the upcoming T20 World Cup. Rashid was chosen for the role considering his experience, brilliant performance as well as leadership skills with the National team over the years.

Ashgar has also been removed from his role as the team captain in ODIs and Tests too as young batter Hashmatullah Shahidi replaced him in those formats. “As per the decision, left-hander Hashmatullah Shahidi is appointed the new ODI and Test captain of the national team while Rahmat Shah will serve as the vice-captain for both formats,” ACB said in the same release.

This is the second time that Khan has been appointed as the captain of the team. The first instance was of the 2019 ODI World Cup when he led the team in England and was later dropped after a dismal outing.

The T20 World Cup 2021 would be on the radar of the newly appointed skier where Afghanistan is placed in Group B alongside England, India and South Africa. The other two teams of the group would be decided through the Qualifier round.

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Nasser Hussain defends easing of restrictions amid Covid-19 'chaos' in ECB

Former England captain Nasser Hussain has said that the emergence of Covid-19 cases in the England team will create ‘chaos’ in the England and Wales Cricket ranks as they have to pull players out of ongoing County Championship fixtures and get them tested before shifting them in a biosecure bubble. "It will cause chaos. They will have to pick a completely different squad- that 16 players and the backroom staff and coaches ruled out. They will have to pull the bulk of those players out of county cricket. There's a round of County Championship games going on now and all those counties will have to replace those players and get them tested. The players pulled out will have to get to Cardiff and get tested to enter the bubble. So it will be absolute chaos at ECB towers right now," Hussain told Sky Sports. However, Hussain defended the move to relax the biosecure provisions keeping in mind the mental well being of the players who have been dealing with one bubble to another for the last year. "They had to ease that bubble slightly, the cricketers have been going around the world in bubbles and just for the sake of their mental health - when they turn up to the ground and see normal society out there, doing things and being relaxed slightly. That's what they had to do with their players," Hussain said. As many as seven members of the England squad that played and took part in the series against Sri Lanka tested positive for the novel Coronavirus infection. This included three players and four support staff while others have been deemed ‘close contacts’ and been forced into isolation. England selected a completely revamped ODI squad for the upcoming series against Pakistan with Ben Stokes coming back from injury to lead the side that has as many as nine uncapped players.

BCCI takes stock of Covid-19 situation in England, but doesn't ask players to curtail their breaks

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Not thinking ahead of myself, first target is IPL’s second leg: Natarajan on T20 World Cup

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Bubble to bubble transfer on cards for Sri Lanka players returning from England: Report

The Sri Lanka players who were there on the tour of England will enter another biosecure bubble upon arrival in the country, PTI reported citing a Sri Lanka Cricket official. The report further said that players went through a round of RT PCR test in the UK before they boarded the flight back home and they will enter the next bubble only after another round of Covid-19 testing. “The Sri Lankan team will reach Colombo today itself and enter another bubble after one round of RT PCR test. Even after completion of tour on Sunday, the team had an RT PCR test in UK before boarding the flight,” a Sri Lanka Cricket official told PTI. “Since the India series is starting in a week no one is going home. It’s bubble to bubble transfer. However if anyone tests positive, usual protocol of testing and isolation would follow,” he added. The issue got contentious as three England players and four support staff have tested positive for Covid-19 after conclusion of the series against Sri Lanka. India under the leadership of Shikhar Dhawan, and coach Rahul Dravid are staying put in Colombo for a three-match ODI and an equally longer T20I series. The first ODI of the series will be played in Colombo on July 13.