Former Afghanistan skipper Asghar Afghan bid adieu to cricket in style as he helped Afghanistan to a massive 62-run win against Namibia in a Group 2 fixture of the ongoing T20 World Cup at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Sunday. He scored 31 off 23 balls in his last-ever international innings. During his 17-year-long illustrious career, he played 6 Tests, 114 ODIs, and 74 T20Is, scoring 440, 2424, and 1351 runs, respectively across formats. Asghar Afghan has also scored 20 half-centuries and 2 tons across formats. He also bows out from the sport as one of the most successful captains in the shortest format of the game.
As Afghan walked off the pitch for the last time, he received a guard of honour from his teammates, while the Afghanistan fans inside the stadium also stood on their feet and saluted the veteran batter.
ICC took to Instagram and shared a clip of the same.
Here’s the video:
“An emotional moment in Abu Dhabi. Asghar Afghan walks off the cricket pitch for the last time to an ovation from fans and teammates,” ICC captioned the video.
Earlier, Afghan had announced his retirement from international cricket ahead of Afghanistan’s game against Namibia.
“In the last match, we were hurt too much, and that’s why I decided to retire. There are plenty of memories, it’s difficult for me, but I have to retire,” Afghan said during a pre-match press conference.
Promoted
“Afghanistan’s ex-captain Asghar Afghan who holds the highest winning streak as a captain in T20 internationals surpassing Indian legend MS Dhoni by one extra win, decides to bid farewell with all formats of cricket in Afghanistan’s third match against Namibia at @T20WorldCup,” the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) said in a tweet on Saturday.
Afghanistan’s ex captain Asghar Afghan who holds the highest winning streak as a captain in T20 internationals surpassing Indian legend Ms Dhoni by one extra win, decides to bid farewell with all formats of cricket in Afghanistan’s third match against Namibia at @T20WorldCup.
1/1 pic.twitter.com/4nxfeoctjj— Afghanistan Cricket Board (@ACBofficials) October 30, 2021
The cricket board took to Twitter again on Sunday and posted photos of Asghar Afghan receiving the guard of honour from his teammates and captioned it as, “Former skipper and national player @MAsgharAfghan played his last match today against Namibia, made important 31 runs and bade farewell to all formats of cricket with heavy heart. He received the guard of honor from his teammates.”
(With Agency Inputs)
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