Afghanistan Cricket Board suspends Mohammad Shahzad for one year

The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) has decided to suspend the opener Mohammad Shahzad for one year for breaching the code of conduct. The discipline committee of the board took the decision even as Shahzad will not be allowed to participate in any form of the cricket. He was earlier suspended for an indefinite period following which Shahzad’s career seemed to be in the doldrums.

Mohammad Shahzad was ruled out of the World Cup midway and was replaced by the wicket-keeper Ikram Ali Khil in the squad. However, the former later revealed in a video, in which he was crying, that he was unfairly sent back home and was completely fit to play the tournament. Revealing further details, Shahzad went on to mention that only captain, coach and the manager knew about him being ruled out and everyone was shocked to know about it later.

Shahzad’s discipline breach

Mohammad Shahzad also accused the board of creating conspiracy against him while also stating that some of the board officials are against him. All these things led to the ACB taking strict action against the cricketer according to ESPNCricinfo. The board has suspended him for 12 months but hasn’t mentioned the codes Shahzad breached which has left many surprising.

Afghanistan are set to take the field for the first time since the 2019 World Cup in the one-off Test match against Bangladesh next month on September 5. Following the Test, a T20I tri-series is scheduled with Zimbabwe also taking part. It will commence on September 13 and will conclude on September 24.

Afghanistan will then host the Windies at home (Dehradun) for 3 T20 Internationals, 3 ODIs and a one-off Test match from November 5. Mohammad Shahzad looks set to miss a lot of action in the coming months and it also remains to be seen if he will be an automatic selection after serving the 12-month suspension next year.

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