It seems like the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 in India will see several retirements from the format, more than anyone could expect. Quinton de Kock has already announced that the World Cup will be his last tournament in ODIs, Ben Stokes has come back from retirement just for the marquee competition and another name to be added to the list is Afghanistan pacer Naveen ul Haq. Naveen, who earned a recall into Afghanistan squad in ODIs for the World Cup, announced on Wednesday, September 27 that he will be retiring from the format after the World Cup.
Taking to Instagram, Naveen wrote, "It has been an absolute honour to represent my country would like to announce my retirement from ODI format at end of this World Cup and will continue to wear this blue jersey in t20 cricket for my country.
"It hasn’t been an easy decision to make but to prolong my playing career had to take this tough decision would like to thank @afghanistancricketboardAnd all my fans for their support and unwavering love," the 24-year-old added.
Naveen said that he will continue to play in T20Is for his country. Having played just 7 matches in the format, Naveen is very inexperienced and new to the format and hence the decision was even more surprising.
Afghanistan arrived in Trivandrum on September 26 before their campaign begins with warm-up match against South Africa on Friday, September 29. After which Afghanistan travel to Guwahati for their second warm-up game against Sri Lanka on October 3. Afghanistan's first game in the main tournament will be on Saturday, October 7 against Bangladesh in Dharamsala.
Afghanistan World Cup squad: Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Riaz Hassan, Rahmat Shah, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Ikram Alikhil, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Abdul Rahman, Naveen ul Haq.
