Afghanistan spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman missed Afghanistan’s second group stage game against New Zealand on Saturday. Afghan captain Rashid Khan revealed that the spinner has been struggling with a hand injury for the past 8 months. Rashid failed to provide a return date for Mujeeb, sparking fears that the off-spinner’s T20 World Cup might be over because of the injury.
“Mujeeb is out. He has had a hand injury. Noor is in. Mujeeb has been struggling with his hand for the last 7-8 months. Hopefully, he will come back soon for us,” Rashid Khan said at the toss.
Notably, this is the same hand injury that forced Mujeeb to miss the entire IPL 2024 season after being bought by Kolkata Knight Riders.
More News
Noor Ahmed replaces Mujeeb Ur Rahman
Mujeeb Ur Rahman was replaced by Afghanistan‘s left-arm wrist-spinner Noor Ahmed, but the Asian team suffered a major loss without the enigmatic spinner, particularly in their match against New Zealand. Playing in the first match against Uganda, Mujeeb Ur Rahman took a wicket while only giving up 16 runs in three overs.
NZ vs AFG tie finely balanced
Afghanistan posted a target of 160 in front of New Zealand after being put to bat first. Afghan Wicketkeeper-batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz scored his second half-century of the tournament in as many games but a late collapse saw Afghanistan being restricted for 159.