Abu Dhabi, Oct 31: A teary-eyed Asghar Afghan said his decision to retire in the middle of the ongoing T20 World Cup was triggered by the pain that he and his teammates endured after Afghanistan's heart-breaking loss to Pakistan in their previous match.
Afghanistan suffered a five-wicket loss in their Super 12 match against Pakistan in which Asif Ali smashed four sixes in the penultimate over, with the team requiring 24 off the last two overs, to end the contest .
Less than 24 hours after the match, former skipper Afghan, who holds the record of most T20I wins as captain, announced his decision to retire after the match against Namibia.
"In the last match, we were hurt too much, and that's why I decided to retire," Asghar, who has led Afghanistan in 115 matches, said wiping his tears during a chat after the end of the first innings.
"There are plenty of memories, it's difficult for me, but I have to retire."
The 33-year-old played six Tests, 114 ODIs and 75 T20Is, including the Namibia match, in a creditable career, scoring 4246 runs across formats.
"I want to give chance to youngsters. I think this is a good opportunity for that. Most people are asking me why now but it's something I cannot explain," said Afghan, who scored a 23-ball 31 on Sunday.
The ICC congratulated Asghar for a superb career that has seen him play a crucial role in his country's rise in international cricket.
The batter has been a part of all seven major ICC tournaments that Afghanistan have participated in.
ICC acting chief executive Geoff Allardice said: "Asghar has been a great ambassador of the game and played a huge part in Afghanistan's rise up the ranks in world cricket.
"He has played a pivotal role as batter and led his team astutely during his time as captain.
"On behalf of the ICC, I wish him all the best for the future and hope that he continues to be associated with the game in the years to come."
Asghar captained his country in their first-ever Test match against India in 2018 and at the T20 World Cup 2016.
Afghanistan will next play India on November 3 and New Zealand on November 7.
The team is playing at the ICC event at a time when the country itself is in turmoil following the Taliban takeover.
The future of Afghan cricketers is also uncertain due to the drastic changes in the political landscape. The Taliban have already barred women from playing the game.
Atal Asghar Afghan cried after leaving cricket forever
— Nisar Afghan (@NisarAfghan47) October 31, 2021
you are the real hero of afghan team
Thank you for your service to Afghanistan
Proud of you! pic.twitter.com/wWklaHI9Qh
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Prayagraj, Jul 25 (PTI): The Allahabad High Court has observed that each incident of mob lynching or mob violence is a separate incident and cannot be monitored in a public interest litigation (PIL).
A bench of Justices Siddharth and Avnish Saxena was hearing a PIL filed by Jamiat Ulema-i-Hind seeking compliance of apex court's guidelines for checking incidents of mob lynching.
Disposing of the PIL, the bench said that the judgement of the apex court in the Tehseen S. Poonawalla Vs Union of India (2018) is binding upon the state government as well as the central government.
"Therefore, it is always open for the aggrieved party to approach the government first before rushing to this court seeking compliance of the judgement of apex court," it added.
In the PIL, the petitioner had sought extensive directions concerning the implementation of the apex court's binding guidelines in the case of Tehseen Poonawalla.
In the PIL, specific incidents of mob lynching and mob violence in Uttar Pradesh, including one in May in Aligarh, were referred.
The petitioner had sought setting up of a special investigation team (SIT) headed by an inspector general-rank officer to investigate the mob violence incident in Aligarh, the notification and circular related to the appointment of nodal officers in each district dealing with mob lynching cases, along with a status report on such cases.
Counsel for the state government opposed the maintainability of the PIL.
In its judgment passed on July 15, the court said that although the reliefs prayed in the PIL were consistent with the apex court's guidelines in Tehseen Poonawalla case, they could not be granted through a PIL seeking general oversight over individual incidents.
The court, however, noted that the affected parties have the liberty to first approach the appropriate government authority for the implementation of the apex court's directions.