Mohammad Nabi rules himself out of Netherlands ODI series

Veteran Afghanistan all-rounder Mohammad Nabi has ruled himself out of the three-match ODI series against the Netherlands in a bid to give youngsters a chance to play at the highest level. The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) on Saturday, January 15, announced an 18-member squad for the white-ball games and named Hashmatullah Shahidi as their skipper.

The 37-year-old Nabi, recently, led the Afghans in the T20 World Cup 2021 in Oman and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Under his leadership, the Afghans registered massive wins over Scotland and Namibia but lost to India, Pakistan, and New Zealand. The Loger-born Nabi became the skipper after Rashid Khan relinquished captaincy.

Mohammad Nabi recently played for the Melbourne Renegades, led by Nic Maddinson, in the 2021-22 edition of the Big Bash League (BBL) in Australia. Prior to that, Nabi also plied his trade for the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), now led by Kane Williamson, in the 2021 Indian Premier League (IPL), although he didn’t get a whole lot of chances to play.

Nabi’s decision to not play against the Netherlands comes after Naveen-ul-Haq took a break from ODIs to prepare for the T20 World Cup later this year in Australia. For the upcoming series in Doha, the Afghans have quite a few uncapped ODI cricketers, namely Fazal Farooqi, Shahidullah Kamal, and Hassan Riaz.

The three ODIs are set to take place on Friday, January 21, Sunday, January 23, and Tuesday, January 25 at the West End Park International Cricket Stadium in Doha. The matches are a part of the ICC World Cup Super League from where the top seven teams will qualify for the mega event in India. The Afghans are presently placed 11th in the points table.

The Afghans are currently placed 10th in the ICC rankings for ODI teams. The Netherlands, on the other hand, were scheduled to play three ODIs in South Africa, but the series was halted midway due to the Omicron variant of COVID-19.

Afghanistan Squad

Azmatullah Omarzai, Farid Malik, Fazal Haq Farooqi, Gulbadin Naib, Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Ikram Ali Khil, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Najibullah Zadran, Qais Ahmad, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Rahmat Shah, Rashid Khan, Hassan Riaz, Salim Safi, Shahidullah Kamal, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Usman Ghani, Yamin Ahmadzai