Afghanistan pacer Naveen-ul-Haq has been ruled out of the Asia Cup. As his replacement, Abdullah Ahmadzai will join the squad. Afghanistan began their Asia Cup campaign with a 94-run win over Hong Kong China. On Tuesday, they will take on Bangladesh.
The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) has confirmed Naveen’s withdrawal. In a statement, the ACB said that pacer Naveen-ul-Haq has been ruled out of this year’s Asia Cup. In his place, Abdullah Ahmadzai has been called up. The ACB further stated that Naveen has not yet recovered from his injury, and the medical team has not declared him fit to play in the remaining matches of the tournament. Therefore, he will continue his rehabilitation process until fully recovered.
To keep their hopes of reaching the Super Four alive, Bangladesh must defeat Afghanistan. At the same time, they will also have to rely on the results of other teams.
With one win from two matches, Bangladesh currently sit at number 3 on the points table with 2 points. The top two teams from the group will qualify for the Super Four. Afghanistan hold the number 1 spot and Sri Lanka number 2, both also with 2 points, but ahead of Bangladesh due to superior net run rate.
For Bangladesh to qualify for the Super Four, they must beat Afghanistan. In addition, they will hope for Sri Lanka to beat Afghanistan as well. In that case, Afghanistan will finish with 2 points, while Bangladesh with 4 points and Sri Lanka with 6 points will advance to the Super Four.
