Afghanistan skipper Asghar Stanikzai to undergo appendix surgery

Afghanistan skipper Asghar Stanikzai is expected to undergo an appendix surgery, something that may rule him out for the first couple of matches in the ICC World Cup Qualifier. The 30-year old took over from his former Afghan skipper Nawroz Mangal and has led the Associate Nation through its golden period. The Asian side has been drawn into a rather tricky group along with Scotland, Hong Kong, and Nepal, the latter who made history by entering the Qualifiers for the first time in their history.

However, prior to the start of the main qualifier in Zimbabwe, the Afghans will play a warm-up match against the Netherlands on the 1st of March. Nonetheless, this comes as a massive blow for the side’s chances ahead of the tournament, especially given the fact that the Afghanistan cricket team has been on the ascendency in recent times on the grandest stage of them all.

They were particularly impressive as they qualified for the World Cup in 2015 ahead of  The Dutch and Scotland. However, their best moment came in the World T20 the following year, wherein they beat the West Indies in the final group game of the tournament despite not being able to go through the group stages. The Windies, who incidentally are part of the qualifier as well, went on to win yet another World T20 under their charismatic leader Darren Sammy.

Nabi likely to lead the side

In the absence of Stanikzai, all-rounder Mohammad Nabi seems to be the favorite to lead the side ahead of the likes of Mohammad Shahzad and Dawlat Zadran. Nabi is quite clearly one of the senior-most batsmen in the side as well, given the fact that he has been successful in domestic T20 tournaments played across the globe in recent times. Most recently, he was part of the Melbourne Renegades in the Mig Bash League.

He will also find himself a part of the Sunrisers Hyderabad setup in the upcoming IPL, something that speaks volumes of his cricketing acumen. In spite of the Stanikzai blow, the Afghans will remain strong favorites in the tournament, especially given the fact that Rashid Khan, their young leg-spinner has been adjudged the best T20 bowler in the world.