Mujeeb Ur Rahman's T20 World Cup campaign has come to an abrupt end due to a recurring finger injury. The Afghan spinner, who missed the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 season with the same ailment, played in Afghanistan's opening match against Uganda but has been sidelined since.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) confirmed on Friday that Hazratullah Zazai, an opening batter, will replace Mujeeb in Afghanistan's squad. The replacement was approved by the event technical committee following Afghanistan's victory over Papua New Guinea.
Afghanistan had initially named Noor Ahmad as Mujeeb's replacement in the squad. Ahmad played in Afghanistan's last two fixtures, taking one wicket in their win over New Zealand and 1 for 14 in their victory over PNG.
"He's going to be a big part for us going forward, as these wickets continue to wear," said Afghanistan coach Jonathan Trott about Noor. "It's always nice to have the option of him to come into the side, or the left-arm spin of Nangeyalia Kharote, who can come into the side - he did really well in the last [series] against Ireland - and obviously [Mohammad] Nabi, who can bowl spin as well."
Zazai, a left-handed opening batter, is not a direct replacement for Mujeeb but will strengthen Afghanistan's batting lineup. He has not played a T20I since February but has participated in the last two T20 World Cups and holds the second-highest individual score in a men's T20I.
Afghanistan secured their place in the Super Eight stage by defeating PNG and will face West Indies in their final group game on Monday in St Lucia.
Tags: #T20WorldCup, #Afghanistan, #MujeebUrRahman, #Injury, #HazratullahZazai
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