Watch – Asghar Afghan breaks down in tears while talking about his retirement

October 31, 2021 3rdUmpire

Asghar Afghan will retire from all formats of the game after Afghanistan’s Super 12 match in the T20 World Cup against Namibia on Sunday.

The Afghanistan Cricket Board said it accepted the 33-year-old Asghar’s decision, saying it “expresses gratitude for his services to the country.”

Afghanistan skipper at the T20 World Cup Mohammad Nabi said he was sad to learn about his “good friend” and brother Asghar’s retirement and described him as one of the shining stars of Afghan cricket.

Asghar, who scored 440 runs in six test matches at an average of 44.00, was the captain in Afghanistan’s inaugural test match against India in 2018. He has also played 114 one-day internationals, scoring 2424 runs at an average of 24.73. In 74 T20s, Asghar made 1351 runs at a strike rate of 110.37 with an average of 21.79.

Asghar with 42 wins as captain holds the unique record of most wins as captain in international T20s with nine losses and one tied game. Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who is now the mentor of the Indian team at the T20 World Cup, won 41 T20s as captain of the national team.

He broke down in tears while speaking about his decision to retire from international cricket.

“I want to give chance to youngsters now. It is the right time for the youngsters to come forward. Most of the people asked to continue till the end of the tournament. But I thought this is the right time after the loss in the last game. There are plenty of memories. This is tough for me,” said an emotional Asghar Afghan during the innings break.

Earlier, he was given a guard of honour by both teams.

Asghar Afghan retired from all formats of the game after Afghanistan's Super 12 match in the T20 World Cup against Namibia today pic.twitter.com/VfbXVPPJSB

— Ahmed Waqar Bibi (@Ahmed_WB) October 31, 2021