The Afghanistan National Team are yet to announce any replacement for their pacer Naveen-ul-Haq; however, Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman have left the MICT and Paarl Royals to join the Afghanistan squad for the upcoming three-match T20I series against the West Indies.
The ICC T20 World Cup is knocking at every team's doorstep, and they are gearing up to play the final bit of preparatory bilaterals before going to India and Sri Lanka for the marquee tournament. Afghanistan have scheduled the series against the West Indies.
The series is a three-match T20I series that starts on the 19th of January and will be played till the 22nd of January at the Sharjah Cricket Association Stadium in Sharjah. The West Indies are yet to reveal their squad for the tournament, while Afghanistan have faced a series of injuries.
Naveen-ul-Haq ruled out of ICC T20 World Cup due to surgery; ACB to name replacement
Afghanistan quick Naveen-ul-Haq has been ruled out of the three-match T20I series against the West Indies next week. The series, which concludes on the 22nd of January, will not mark his return, which implies that he will miss the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup as well.
According to reports on ESPNcricinfo, the speedster who had reversed his international retirement will undergo surgery later this month, and hence, the ACB will have to announce a replacement for him in the T20 World Cup squad, which travels to India next month.
He last played for Afghanistan in December 2024 and then missed the Asia Cup with a shoulder injury. However, he played the SA20 2024-25 and then played the Major League Cricket in 2025. He then later returned to play a couple of games in the ILT20 at the end of 2025. Naveen-ul-Haq's kind of injury is not yet known.
The Afghanistan Cricket Board had previously mentioned the likes of spinner AM Ghazanfar, batter Ijaz Ahmadzai, and seamer Zia Ur Rahman Sharifi as the reserves for the T20 World Cup; hence, one of them should ideally replace Naveen.
Rashid Khan leaves SA20 midway to return to National duty
Meanwhile, the Afghanistan skipper Rashid Khan has left his captaincy duties in the SA20 midway for MI Cape Town as he returned to feature for Afghanistan against the West Indies. Khan was the defending champions' captain over the past two seasons.
Rashid Khan will be replaced by Kieron Pollard, who recently led the MI Emirates in the ILT20, where they finished as the runners-up of the competition. The big man from the Caribbean, though, might not be leading the MICT team, who are currently at the bottom of the SA20 table with just 2 wins and 5 losses.
Mujeeb Ur Rehman, another veteran spinner from Afghanistan, has also left the Paarl Royals camp in the SA20 to feature for his national side in the series against the West Indies.
Who will lead MICT after Rashid Khan leaves?
With Rashid Khan's departure, the MICT management would be stressed to announce their new captain, as they have many likely candidates on their list. South African cricketers Rassie van der Dussen and Ryan Rickelton are the frontrunners.
Ryan Rickelton is their highest scorer in the season with 324 runs at a strike rate of 167.01, along with two centuries against the Joburg Super Kings and Durban Super Giants. Rashid Khan, on the other hand, was their most economical bowler and had picked 6 scalps with the ball.
With Kieron Pollard's arrival and the vast experience the Caribbean all-rounder possesses, it seems wise to hand the captaincy over to him; however, the SA20 might prefer handing the captaincy to their players.
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