Alleged corruption forces Usman Ghani to take a break

Afghanistan cricketer Usman Ghani has decided to put a pause on his international career following his exclusion from Afghanistan's international squad.

Ghani's decision came to light after he alleged that Afghanistan Cricket Board is corrupt and he will make his return to the national team after the appointment of the "right management".

"After careful consideration, I have decided to take a break from Afghanistan Cricket," Ghani wrote on Twitter.

"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. Once that happens, I will proudly return to play for Afghanistan. Until then, I am backing myself from representing my beloved nation," Ghani concluded.

Ghani last featured for Afghanistan at the international level in March against Pakistan, bagging scores of 7 and 15.

In the last two years, he has played 11 T20I innings scoring at an average of 23.50 and a strike rate of 99.15, his last ODI appearance came in 2022 before he lost his place in the 50-over format. As of now, Ghani has never been considered for red-ball cricket, and following his recent exclusion from T20Is, he has now lost his place in white-ball cricket as well.

In the Afghanistan white ball set-up, the selectors decided to replace Ghani with experienced wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Shahzad who is making his return following an absence of 18 months.

In terms of fulfilling Ghani's presence in the opening slot, the selectors decided to retain Sediqullah Atal who is being looked at as a long-term prospect following his recent success.

Afghanistan's Chief selector Asadullah came forward and gave his verdict on Shehzad's inclusion in the squad and told ESPNcricinfo, "Shahzad's selection is based on domestic performance and we want to see him up there."

"We are basically looking at the 2024 T20 World Cup and trying out players. With Shahzad, we feel he can contribute with this opportunity for him to prove how well he can do. He is not part of our ODI plans but the focus is to go with him to the T20 World Cup. Also, it was the captain and coach's demand to see Shahzad as an option and how it goes. We don't have anyone other than [Rahmanullah] Gurbaz in the top order so we want to build a backup," Asadullah concluded.

As of now, Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) has not made any official statement regarding Ghani's comments. Afghanistan will play three ODIs and two T20Is in Bangladesh which is set to begin from Wednesday.