Picture Credit: Twitter
Asghar Afghan was felicitated with a guard of honour when he walked out to bat for Afghanistan for the last time in his international career. Notably, the former skipper of the national cricket team announced retirement from all forms of cricket, with the side's ongoing game against Namibia at T20 World Cup 2021 being his last at the highest level.
Asghar, who captained the national side in 115 matches, came out to bat at number 4 when Afghanistan lost the wicket of Rahmanullah Gurbaz on the fifth ball of the 10th over at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi. As he walked inside the ground, all the Namibia players lined up and clapped for him before the opposition captain came forward and shook hands with the ex-Afghan skipper.
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Asghar Afghan scores 31 off 23 in his last international knock
Helped by 3 fours and a six, Asghar scored 31 runs off 23 balls in the game before losing his wicket to Namibia's Ruben Trumpelmann. All the players again gave him a guard of honour during his return to pavilion. Overwhelmed by such a great response from everyone, Asghar got emotional and broke down in tears when he was speaking to the commentators after first innings. Notably, Asghar didn't take the field in the first over of the second innings against Namibia and was spotted crying outside. He later entered the pitch to help his side defend the target of 161.
This is tough for me: Asghar Afghan
"I want to give chance to youngsters now. It is the right time for the youngsters 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.
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Asghar played 114 ODIs, 75 T20Is and 6 Tests for his side, amassing 4200+ runs overall. He is the captain with most number of T20I wins. With 42 victories to his name in the shortest format at the highest level, he inches legendary India skipper MS Dhoni with a margin of one win.