Veteran all-rounder Mohammad Nabi has lauded Rashid Khan’s aggressive captaincy following Afghanistan’s historic Test win over Bangladesh at Chattogram.
Rashid and his men beat the hosts by 224 runs in the one-off Test to record their second win in the format in just three appearances.
Nabi, who made his final Test appearance for Afghanistan in the clash, praised Rashid’s leadership in the big win over Bangladesh while blaming a late captaincy change as the reason behind the team’s dismal display in the 2019 World Cup.
Having appointed Gulbadin Naib as the ODI skipper just weeks before the start of the tournament, Afghanistan eventually went on to finish bottom of the table after losing all nine games in England.
“It is all about team combination,” Nabi said after Bangladesh’s win at Chattogram.
“In the World Cup, the board members changed the old captain and that’s why the combination wasn’t that good. With Rashid as captain, Asghar (Afghan) and I support him a lot. He prepared for the role too.
“If you change the captain before the World Cup, how can you prepare the team? He (Naib) never captained in his life, how can he lead a team in the World Cup? That’s why it was tough, and the boys didn’t perform in the World Cup. We got close against India, Pakistan and West Indies but now it has totally changed. We are giving chances to the youngsters; three debuted in the Test and there will be many debuts in the T20s too.”
A Captain’s performance from @rashidkhan_19 , who lead from the front taking 11 wickets in the match , seals a historic Test victory for Afghanistan beating @BCBtigers by 224 runs in the One-off Test at Chattogram.#AFGvBAN @Farhan_YusEfzai pic.twitter.com/vHIbiTZthe
— Afghanistan Cricket Board (@ACBofficials) September 9, 2019
Following the team’s dismal World Cup campaign in England, the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) opted for another captaincy change with Rashid being appointed as skipper across all three international formats.
The star leg-spinner led from the front in his first Test as Afghanistan skipper with a match-haul of 11 wickets along with a vital half-century with the bat in the first-innings. Nabi believes that the 20-year-old spinner is the right man to lead a youthful Afghanistan side going forward.
“We are focusing on the youngsters,” Nabi said.
“We have put a young captain in-charge, and he is aggressive. He is the No. 1 bowler in the world as well. That’s why we all support the captain.
“Our chairman and CEO, our board members support the team.”
Having emerged victorious in the one-off Test, Afghanistan will now turn their attentions to the T20 tri-series also involving hosts Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. Rashid and his men are due to take on Zimbabwe at Dhaka in the tri-series opener on September 14.
