Afghanistan’s opening batter, Usman Ghani, has made the decision to take a break from cricket due to concerns regarding the “corrupt” leadership within the country’s cricket board.
After being left out of the squad for the upcoming bilateral series against Bangladesh, Ghani expressed dissatisfaction with the state of affairs in the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB). He criticized the leadership, referring to them as “corrupt” and stated that he would only consider returning to the team once there are changes in the management.
Ghani questioned the absence of any explanation from the current chief selector regarding his exclusion from the squad. He took to Twitter to voice his concerns, sharing a series of tweets that shed light on the current situation within the ACB. Ghani mentioned his unsuccessful attempts to meet the chairman of the board on multiple occasions.
“After careful consideration, I have decided to take a break from Afghanistan Cricket. The corrupt leadership in the cricket board has compelled me to step back. I will continue my hard work and eagerly await the right management and selection committee to be put in place,” Ghani expressed on Twitter.
“Once that happens, I will proudly return to play for Afghanistan. Until then, I am refraining from representing my beloved nation. Despite multiple visits, I couldn’t meet the chairman as he remained unavailable,” he added.
Furthermore, Ghani expressed disappointment with the chief selector’s inability to provide a satisfactory response regarding his exclusion from all formats of the game.
To date, Ghani has represented Afghanistan in 17 ODIs and 35 T20Is. His most recent appearance for the national team was in the T20I series against Pakistan on March 27, held in Sharjah. His last ODI match for the team took place in January 2022 against the Netherlands.
