Off-field issues continue to haunt the Afghanistan team

The Afghanistan team has put an end to their horror run in the 2019 World Cup after losing their final tie against West Indies. Apart from not winning a single match in the entire campaign, the side was constantly making headlines for all the wrong reasons. Now, the off-field issues refuse to die down. The latest being the speedster Aftab Alam’s case as he was sent back at the midway of the tournament.

It has been clarified that Alam was caught misbehaving with a female guest which has further put a bad taste in the mouth of Afghanistan cricket fans. It has been a tough couple of months for the Asian team as all the action is taking place beyond the boundary lines. From the start of 2019 players and board members have repeatedly blamed each other which is not a good sign. This might have been the reason behind the bad performances of Afghanistan in this English summer.

From bad to worse

The Asian team’s on-field performances can be excused in this World Cup due to lack of experience at the grandest stage. It can happen to the biggest of sides in such a decorated tournament but the team has also failed in the disciplinary aspects of the game. On June 27, the pacer Aftab Alam was forced to pack bags because of his breach of ICC’s disciplinary code of conduct.

The board has made shocking revelations now. According to ACB, the pacer misbehaved with a lady guest during his World Cup stay at New Hampshire hotel after their game against India. The board has also asked its disciplinary committee to conduct a probe and submit a report within the shortest time possible.

“The disciplinary committee has already been assigned to carry out the investigation in the Alam incident and asked to submit the report in a week,” Atif Mashal who is a board member in the ACB, was quoted as saying.

As per the reports of the ACB‘s Annual General Meeting in Kabul, even their team manager Naved Sayem has been suspended. It has also been learned from Atif Mashal that the team manager was suspended because of his inability to report in the proper order. Both Alam and Naved are expected to get harsh punishments.

“Mashal further added that Sayem was suspended as he was found guilty of not reporting the incident properly.”He was found to hide things from the ACB. That is why it was decided to suspend him and investigate. As for the player (Alam), we will formalise the sanction against him once the disciplinary committee submits its report.”