Mohammad Shahzad ruled out of World Cup with knee injury
Ikram Ali Khil named as replacement wicketkeeper for remainder of the tournament
ESPNcricinfo staff
06-Jun-2019
Mohammad Shahzad walks off after injuring his knee • Getty Images
Mohammad Shahzad, Afghanistan's wicketkeeper and opening batsman, has been ruled out of the remainder of the World Cup after suffering a knee injury.
Shahzad, whose hard-hitting exploits at the top of the order have been a major factor in Afghanistan's rise through the ODI rankings, fell for a duck in their opening fixture against Australia last week, and made 7 from 11 balls in their low-scoring defeat to Sri Lanka in Cardiff.
The ICC's Event Technical Committee has approved Ikram Ali Khil as Shahzad's replacement in the squad for the remainder of the tournament.
Khil has played just two ODI matches, having debuted against Ireland in Dehradun in March this year. The 18-year-old was also part of Afghanistan's squad at the 2016 U19 World Cup in Bangladesh, and the 2018 event in New Zealand.
He played a pivotal role in Afghanistan's Asian Cricket Council U19 Cup triumph, scoring an unbeaten hundred in the 2017 final. He also has one Test cap to his name, after playing in Afghanistan's maiden victory over Ireland in March.
The World Cup's Event Technical Committee consists of Geoff Allardice (ICC, ETC chairman), Campbell Jamieson (ICC representative), Steve Elworthy (CWC representative), Alan Fordham (host representative), Harsha Bhogle and Kumar Sangakkara (both independent representatives).