Afghanistan’s fast bowler, Naveen-ul-Haq, took a dig at Australia as they face each other in the ongoing ICC Cricket World Cup 2023. On Instagram, Naveen shared a story in which he commented about Australia’s participation in the World Cup against Afghanistan, given that they had previously declined to engage in a bilateral cricket series.
The reason to this situation was the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021, which led Australia to cancel their cricket tour to the country. Naveen suggested that it would be intriguing to see how Australia would approach the match now, considering that the political circumstances in Afghanistan remained unchanged since then.
Naveen-ul-Haq’s Instagram story
“Refusing to play the bilateral series, now it will be interesting to see cricket Australia stand in the World Cup #standards #humanrights or 2 points,” Naveen posted on Instagram.
Before the World Cup, Naveen had voiced his frustration with Cricket Australia’s choice to withdraw from the ODI series in March. Additionally, he decided not to participate in the Big Bash League (BBL).
AUS vs AFG
Afghanistan have been phenomenal in the World Cup, notably securing victories over three previous world champions: England, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Despite entering the tournament as underdogs, they have been a dominant force in the tournament, positioning themselves as strong contenders to advance to the semi-finals. In their last match on Friday, Afghanistan continued their winning streak by defeating the Netherlands with a convincing 7-wicket margin, marking their fourth win in the tournament.
In contrast, Australia’s performance in the World Cup has been decent. On Saturday, they defeated England by a 33-run margin, effectively eliminating the defending champions from the World Cup. Spinner Adam Zampa played a pivotal role in taking crucial wickets for Australia, while Ben Stokes put up a valiant effort for England by scoring 64 runs. The five-time world champions have had a respectable campaign thus far, securing 5 wins in 7 matches and positioning themselves well to reach the semi-finals.
