Cricket news round-up – 13 July: Rashid Khan appointed Afghanistan captain in all formats, Ireland beat Zimbabwe by 9 wickets

Rashid Khan has been appointed the new Afghanistan captain in all three formats; AB de Villiers denied forcing his way into World Cup squad; Ireland beat Zimbabwe by 9 wickets in second T20I; and India coach Ravi Shastri rued missing a ‘solid’ middle-order batsman.

Afghanistan have a new captain

Rashid Khan has been appointed Afghanistan’s captain in all three formats of the game. Asghar Afghan, the former captain, is the new vice-captain. The change comes after Afghanistan’s disappointing World Cup campaign where they failed to win a single game out of their 9 matches under the leadership of Gulbadin Naib, who was made the ODI captain just before the tournament: he had replaced Afghan.

Surprisingly, Rahmat Shah, who was made Test captain alongside Naib’s appointment, was removed from the position without even leading the side at all. Afghan’s return to a leadership role could be beneficial for Afghanistan – they registered their maiden Test win, over Ireland, and won 31 ODs and 37 T20Is in Afghan’s leadership.

AB de Villiers breaks silence over World Cup row

AB de Villiers has opened up on the controversy that ensued over his offer to Cricket South Africa to come out of retirement if he’s needed for the World Cup. 

A private conversation between de Villiers and the current captain Faf du Plessis was leaked after South Africa’s loss to India in the World Cup and de Villiers was accused of trying to force his way into the World Cup squad at the last moment almost a year after he had retired from international cricket in May 2018.

“Now the Proteas’ World Cup campaign is over, and the team cannot be distracted, I would like to respond to unjustified criticism of me during the tournament,” de Villiers tweeted on Friday, July 12. “I continue to be asked to comment on the disclosure, and distortion, of a private conversation that took place just before the squad was announced and, for the benefit of anyone who may have felt let down, would like to explain what happened.

“First, I announced my retirement from international cricket in May 2018 because I wanted to reduce my workload and spend more time with my wife and young sons. Some have insisted I was motivated purely by money. They are wrong. In truth, I have turned down many lucrative offers to play around the world, and have cut the time spent away from home each year from eight months to just over three months.

“During the weeks and months that followed, there was no formal contact between Cricket South Africa or the Proteas and me. I didn’t call them, and they didn’t call me. I had made my decision and the Proteas moved on, enjoying success under the expert guidance of coach Ottis Gibson and the outstanding captaincy of Faf du Plessis.

“Faf and I have been friends since we were at school together and, two days before the World Cup squad was announced, I contacted him for a chat. I had been in decent form during the Indian Premier League and casually repeated what I had said when asked a year earlier, that I was available if required … but only if required. I made absolutely no demands at all. I certainly did not try to force my way into the World Cup squad on the eve of the tournament, and did not expect to be included.”

Ireland beat Zimbabwe by 9 wickets

Ireland defeated Zimbabwe by 9 wickets in the second T20I at Bready to take an unassailable 1-0 lead in the three-match series; the first game was abandoned due to rain. The hosts won the toss and sent Zimbabwe in. 

Brendan Taylor (14) and Hamilton Masakadza (1) departed inside the first four overs before Craig Ervine (55) and Sean Williams (34) added 67 for the third wicket to put the innings back on track.

But once Williams fell at the score of 87 in the eighth over, Ireland tightened the screws over the opposition batsmen and conceded just 45 runs in the next 12 overs while picking up five wickets. Mark Adair returned 4/40 and Craig Young got 2/20.

In reply, Kevin O’Brien (19) and Paul Stirling (83*) added 58 runs for the first wicket in just 5 overs to give their team a good start. Stirling was brutal on the bowlers in his 36-ball knock which included 6 fours and 7 sixes. Andy Balbirnie remained unbeaten on 28 off 17 to help finish the job for his team in just 10.5 overs.

Shastri concedes missing a ‘solid’ middle-order bat

In the aftermath of India’s semi-final exit from the World Cup, coach Ravi Shastri has conceded that India missed a batsman in the middle order after injuries to Vijay Shankar and Shikhar Dhawan created a resource vacuum. India failed to chase down 240 in the semi-final against New Zealand after losing their top three batsman for just 5 even as Ravindra Jadeja and MS Dhoni put on a 116-run stand for the eighth wicket.

In the middle order, however, the likes of Rishabh Pant and Dinesh Karthik under performed and Hardik Pandya didn’t bat in his usual role of a finisher. “In hindsight, yes, we did need a solid batsman out there in the middle order. But now, that’s something for the future,” Shastri told The Indian Express. 

“That’s a position that was always giving us problems, but we just couldn’t nail it. Rahul was there but then Shikhar Dhawan got injured. Then Vijay Shankar was there, and he got injured. We just couldn’t control it.”