Former cricketer Mirwais Ashraf appointed as the new chairman of the Afghanistan Cricket Board

The Taliban-led Afghanistan has appointed Mirwais Ashraf, the former Afghanistan all-rounder as the acting Chairman of the Afghanistan Cricket Board. Ashraf will replace the current chairman, Azizullah Fazli.

Fazli was occupying the post of chairman for just 2 months. This decision was taken by the Taliban after consultation with the Afghanistan players in Abu Dhabi during the 2021 edition of the T20 World Cup.

The Taliban also released a statement regarding the appointment of Ashraf. “The prime minister of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has appointed Mirwais Ashraf as acting chairman of the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB),” read the statement released by the Taliban.

Afghanistan crashes out of the T20 World Cup in the Super 12 stages

The Afghanistan cricket team crashed out of the T20 World Cup in the Super 12 stages of the tournament. The Mohammad Nabi-led side finished at 4th place in the points table in Group B, and could only win 2 out of its 5 matches in the Super 12 stages.

Afghanistan posted wins against Scotland and Namibia in the Super 12 stages of the tournament. The 2021 T20 World Cup also saw Afghanistan veteran cricketer Asghar Afghan announcing his retirement from the game, after more than a decade with the Afghanistan side.

Mirwais Ashraf has featured in 46 ODIs and 24 T20Is for the Afghanistan side. While the 33-year-old scored 399 runs in the ODI format of the game, Ashraf amassed 126 runs in T20I cricket. The right-arm pacer also picked up 46 wickets in the ODI format of the game, while he scalped 14 willow wielders in T20I cricket.

Ashraf played his last international match for the Afghanistan side on 1st October 2016, against the Bangladesh side at the Shere Bangla National Stadium.