Mohammad Nabi named captain of Afghan team for T20 WC after Rashid steps down
Kabul(PTI): Veteran all-rounder Mohammad Nabi has been named Afghanistan skipper for the upcoming T20 World Cup after star spinner Rashid Khan stepped down from captaincy protesting the selection of the national squad without his inputs.
The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) is yet to officially announce Nabi's appointment as captain but the 36-year-old all-rounder tweeted that he has been chosen to lead the team.
"At this critical stage, I admire the decision of ACB for the announcement of leading the National Cricket Team in T20 Format," the 36-year-old Nabi tweeted.
"... we will present a great picture of the Nation in the upcoming T20 World Cup," said the spin-bowling all-rounder who plays for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League.
In a shocking decision, Rashid on Thursday stepped down as the captain of the team, saying that his opinion was not sought before finalising the national squad for the T20 World Cup.
Rashid's stepping down came immediately after the ACB named him as the captain of the 15-member squad for the showpiece event.
"As the captain and responsible person for the nation I reserve the right to be part of the selection of the team," the 22-year-old spinner said in a post shared on his twitter handle.
"The selection committee and ACB has not obtained my consent for the team which has been announced by ACB media," said Rashid.
"I am taking the decision of stepping down from the role as the captain of Afghanistan T20 side effective immediately. It's always my proud playing for Afghanistan."
The T20 World Cup is scheduled to be held in the UAE and Oman from October 17 to November 14.
Afghanistan has been in turmoil following the takeover of the country by Taliban.
Soon after forming the interim government, the Taliban banned women from playing cricket or any others sports, casting doubts over Afghanistan men's team Test status.
As per ICC rules, all Test playing nations must have a women's team as well.
Cricket Australia (CA) all but confirmed on Thursday that its men's team's season-opening Test against Afghanistan, slated to start on November 27, will be scrapped due to the Taliban's order.
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SGPC writes to Mann, seeks ban on 'Emergency' in Punjab a day before release
Amritsar, Jan 16 (PTI): The SGPC on Thursday wrote to Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, seeking a ban on the release of Kangana Ranaut's movie 'Emergency' saying it "tarnishes" the image of Sikhs and "misrepresents" history.
Actor and BJP MP Ranaut's 'Emergency' is slated to release in cinemas on January 17.
In the letter to Mann, Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee chief Harjinder Singh Dhami expressed strong objection to Ranaut's film.
Dhami said that if the film is released in Punjab, it will spark "outrage and anger" in the Sikh community and therefore it is the responsibility of the government to ban its release in the state.
The SGPC, an apex gurdwara body, had earlier also protested the film.
"It has come to our attention that the movie 'Emergency' produced by BJP MP Kangana Ranaut is going to be released on 17th January 2025 in cinemas in different cities of Punjab and the tickets have also started to be booked," its letter to Mann read.
Dhami said the SGPC had also protested the release of the movie in a letter to the Punjab Chief Secretary on November 14 last year.
"But it is sad that the Punjab government has not taken any step till now. If this film is released on January 17, 2025, then it is natural to create outrage and anger in the Sikh world," the current letter read.
Dhami said the SGPC will submit a letter also to all the deputy commissioners in Punjab, seeking a ban on the film in the state.
The SGPC denounced the "character assassination" of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, the Khalistani militant killed in 1984 in a military operation.
"If this film is released in Punjab, we will be forced to strongly oppose it at the state level," Dhami said.
In August last year, the SGPC sent a legal notice to the producers of the 'Emergency' film, alleging that it "misrepresented" the character and history of Sikhs, and asked them to remove the objectionable scenes depicting "anti-Sikh" sentiments.
In the notice, the producers of the film, including Kangana Ranaut, were asked to remove the trailer released on August 14 from all public and social media platforms and tender a written apology to the Sikh community.
The SGPC objected to film writing separate letters to the Minister of Information and Broadcasting and the Central Board of Film Certification.
