T20 World Cup: Rashid Khan defends Gulbadin Naib’s controversial injury, says ‘Didn’t make a difference’

Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan went in to defend his teammate Gulbadin Naib on grounds of controversially going down with an apparent injury during the side’s ever-crucial Super 8 clash against Bangladesh on June 25. Afghanistan clinched a heroic and thrilling win over Najmul Shanto’s Bangladesh by 8 runs via DLS method, which saw the side secure their first-ever semi-final spot in an ICC senior men’s tournament. However, the match also had its fair share of controversy after the 33-year-old Naib grabbed his hamstring and dropped on the ground, just a few seconds before rain interrupted Bangladesh’s runchase.

Having won the toss and opting to bat first, Afghanistan had a risky start when their batters failed to make any considerable impact against the Bangladesh bowling attack, and somehow managed to post a total of only 115 runs on the board. But, some brilliant bowling by the likes of their skipper Rashid in his 4/23 spell and Naveen-ul-Haq in his wins saw the side secure their most important win of the tournament. The match saw a total of three rain interruptions, and Naib’s apparent injury came at the most crucial time of the match, when both sides had an equal chance of winning the clash.

Speaking at the post-match press conference, Rashid opined about how little impact Naib’s scenario had on the game and how it was just a normal on-field injury in a cricket match.

“Well, I think he had some cramp. I don’t know what happened to him. I don’t know what’s going on on social media. But, that doesn’t matter. It’s just an on-field injury. We didn’t lose any overs, rain came, and we just went off (the field). It’s not something that made any massive difference in the game. We came back on to the field in 5 minutes, and there was no massive difference. For me, it was just an injury and needed some time,” Rashid said.

Bagging immense pride and confidence from this historic win, Afghanistan will now gear up for their ever-crucial semi-final against an unbeaten South Africa in their T20 World Cup semi-final clash on June 27 at the Brain Lara Cricket stadium in Tarouba, Trinadad.