Rashid Khan to captain Afghanistan in T20Is
New Delhi, Jul 6: Star leg-spinner Rashid Khan was on Tuesday appointed captain of Afghanistan's T20 team by the country's cricket board keeping in mind the shortest format World Cup to be held in UAE from October 17 to November 14.
Left-handed batsman Najibullah Zadran was appointed as the vice-captain of the team.
"All-rounder Rashid Khan has been appointed the T20I captain of Team Afghanistan. Meanwhile Najibullah Zadran has been appointed the National Team's Vice-captain for the format," Afghanistan Cricket Board said in a statement.
"Rashid, one of the well-known global faces of the game, was selected by senior ACB leadership led by ACB Chairman Farhan Yousefzai, for the role considering his experience, brilliant performance as well as leadership skills with the National team over the years."
Rashid, who is ranked world no 2 among bowlers in T20Is, said he is honoured to serve his nation.
"I'm a great believer that a captain is as good as his team. It is Afghanistan that gave me the name RASHID KHAN & it is my duty now to serve my country & my team. Thank you @ACBofficials for the trust & believing in me. It is a dream journey & my fans support will be the key," Rashid tweeted.
Interestingly, Rashid had earlier declined Afghanistan's T20I captaincy, saying that he believes he is more valuable as a player than as a leader.
In 2019, the 22-year-old was named captain across formats but was later replaced by Asghar Afghan in December following Afghanistan's loss to West Indies in a one-off Test and ODI series.
Afghanistan has been clubbed with England, India and South Africa in group B for the T20 World Cup 2021. The remaining two teams will be chosen from the Qualifiers.
The 2021 edition of the tournament was recently shifted to UAE from India due to the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic.
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Odisha: Normalcy returns to violence-hit Malkangiri; internet services fully restored
Malkangiri (PTI): Normalcy returned to Odisha’s Malkangiri district on Monday, nearly a week after around 200 villages were damaged in violent clashes in a village, with the district administration fully restoring internet services, a senior official said.
Additional District Magistrate Bedabar Pradhan said internet services, suspended across the district on December 8 to curb the spread of rumours and misinformation following the clashes, were restored after the situation improved.
The suspension had been extended in phases till 12 noon on Monday.
The administration also withdrew prohibitory orders imposed under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita within a 10-km radius of MV-26 village, where arson incidents were reported on December 7 and December 8.
Though the violence was confined to two villages, tension had gripped the entire district, as the incident took the form of a clash between local tribals and Bengali settlers following the recovery of a headless body of a woman on December 4, officials said.
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The violence broke out after residents of Rakhelguda village allegedly set ablaze several houses belonging to Bengali residents, forcing hundreds to flee. The headless body of Lake Podiami (51), a woman from the Koya tribe, was recovered from the banks of the Poteru river on December 4, while her head was found six days later at a location about 15 km away.
Officials said the district administration held several rounds of discussions with representatives of the tribal and Bengali communities, following which both sides agreed to maintain peace.
Relief and rehabilitation work has since been launched at MV-26 village, with preliminary assessment pegging property damage at around Rs 3.8 crore.
A two-member ministerial team headed by Deputy Chief Minister K V Singh Deo visited the affected village, interacted with officials and locals, and submitted a report to the chief minister.
So far, 18 people have been arrested in connection with the violence, the officials said, adding that despite the withdrawal of prohibitory orders and restoration of internet services, security forces, including BSF and CRPF personnel, continue to be deployed to prevent any untoward incident.
On Sunday, Nabarangpur MP Balabhadra Majhi visited MV-26 and neighbouring Rakhelguda villages, and held discussions with members of both communities as part of efforts to rebuild confidence and restore peace.
More than two lakh Bengali-speaking Bangladeshis were rehabilitated by the Centre in Malkangiri and Nabarangpur districts in 1968, and they currently reside in 124 villages of Malkangiri.
