T20 World Cup 2021: Naveen-ul-Haq dedicates Player of the Match award to Asghar Afghan

Afghanistan locked horns with Namibia in their third fixture of the T20 World Cup 2021. Ahead of the match, the former Afghanistan skipper Asghar Afghan announced his retirement from international cricket. He played his last game for the nation against Namibia. As Afghanistan emerged triumphant in the match, pacer Naveen-ul-Haq dedicated his Player of the Match award to Afghan.

The speedster exuded his sheer flair by clinching three wickets in the match against Namibia. After having posted the target of 161, the team put up a clinical display with the ball by restricting the opposition at just 98 runs. Naveen-ul-Haq bowled a clinical spell to be one of the architects of the team’s victory.

Thus, he was awarded the Player of the Match for his impressive spell. The pacer expressed his admiration and respect to the former captain who played his last match for Afghanistan by dedicating the award to him. This gesture of the speedster fetched him a lot of praises from the cricket on-lookers.

It’s very difficult to decide for retirement: Asghar Afghan

Afghan featured in six Tests, 114 ODIs, and bid adieu to the game after making 75 appearances in the shortest format. As a captain of the side, he has had an impressive stint with the team. He has surpassed Indian skipper, MS Dhoni, in terms of most T20I wins as a captain.

Opening up on his retirement Afghan stated that he took this decision with the view of providing opportunities to the younger talents. He also added that it was a difficult decision to take.

“I wanted to give away the opportunity for the upcoming youngsters and we’ve played some best cricket but this is a good opportunity for youngsters to come forward. Most of the people have been asking the same question to me, something it’s hard to explain but from the last game it was hard on us and that’s why I’ve decided to leave cricket at this stage.

“Plenty of memories but it’s very difficult to decide for retirement, I know there are plenty of legends in the cricket watching me but this is a difficult time to explain but I have to retire,” Afghan had said during the mid-innings break.