Cricket news round-up – 6 April 2019: Afghanistan appoint three new captains, Russell stuns Bangalore

In a shock move, Afghanistan Cricket Board sacked Asghar Afghan as captain across formats, appointing three captains for three formats. At Chinnaswamy, Andre Russell snatched a win from the jaws of defeat with a 13-ball unbeaten 48; and Dwayne Bravo has been ruled out for two weeks with a hamstring injury.

And in England, the County Championship went underway with six matches on the opening day, while the ICC ACU slapped further charges on Dilhara Lokuhettige.

Afghanistan sack Asghar Afghan

In a bizarre move, ACB sacked captain Asghar Afghan, who had led them to their first ever Test victory, less than two months before the World Cup. Rahmat Shah, Gulbadin Naib, and Rashid Khan have been appointed as Test, ODI, and T20I captains respectively.

The move was criticised by Afghan stars on Twitter. “Being a senior member of the side & having seen the rise of Afghanistan cricket … I don’t think it’s the right time to change the captain … The team has gelled really well under #Asghar & personally feel he is the right man to lead us” voiced Mohammad Nabi.

Even Rashid, one of the replacements, wasn’t happy: “#MAsgharAfghan should remain as our team Captain. His captaincy is highly instrumental for team success. With just months to go for such a mega event like World Cup, changing the captain will cause uncertainty and also team morale will be affected.”

Russell Mania at Chinnaswamy

Andre Russell’s maniacal batting propelled Kolkata Knight Riders to a stunning 5-wicket win against Royal Challengers Bangalore. Russell hit 7 sixes in 13 balls, finishing with an unbeaten 13-ball 48.

Earlier in the day, Bangalore put up 205/3 thanks to Virat Kohli (84 in 49 balls) and AB de Villiers (63 in 32).

Kolkata kept losing wickets in response. When Russell arrived they needed 67 in 26 balls; and when Dinesh Karthik departed, the target was 53 in 18.

But Russell took 23 off the 18th over and 29 off the 19th, and got Kolkata home with 5 balls to spare.

Kolkata are now placed second on the points table, while a winless Bangalore are at the bottom.

No Bravo for two weeks

Dwayne Bravo has been ruled out of action for two weeks with an injured hamstring, one that he sustained during the Mumbai Indians match.

This is the third major blow to Chennai Super Kings this IPL: they had lost Lungi Ngidi to an injury, while David Willey had opted out.

County Championship gets underway

Rain prevented any play on Day One of the County Championship Division One match between Somerset and Kent. Joe Clarke’s unbeaten 109 took Nottinghamshire to 324/5 by stumps against Yorkshire, while Sam Northeast (94*) and Rilee Rossouw (76) took Hampshire to 303/4 against Essex.

In Division Two, Northamptonshire got to 310/6 against Middlesex, Tim Murtagh taking 4/43. Durham became 41/3 after bowling out Derbyshire for 197. And after Tom Taylor (6/47) bowled out Sussex for 173, Leicestershire recovered from 59/5 to 131/5 by stumps.

More worries for Lokuhettige

The ICC Anti-Corruption Unit has slapped three further corruption charges on Dilhara Lokuhettige, former Sri Lankan cricketer.

Lokuhettige had been suspended by