Naveen-ul-Haq ruled out of T20 World Cup; Rashid Khan leaves SA20 for national duty
Afghanistan are yet to announce a replacement for Naveen, while Rashid has linked up with the national team
ESPNcricinfo staff
15-Jan-2026 • 5 hrs ago
Naveen-ul-Haq last played for Afghanistan in December 2024 • ICC via Getty Images
Afghanistan quick Naveen-ul-Haq has been ruled out of the three-match T20I series against West Indies next week as well as the men's T20 World Cup starting next month. ESPNcricinfo understands that he will undergo surgery later this month. While the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) is yet to announce a replacement, they had named mystery spinner AM Ghazanfar, batter Ijaz Ahmadzai and seamer Zia Ur Rahman Sharifi in the reserves for the T20 World Cup.
While the nature of Naveen's injury is not yet known, it is another blow for him, who last played for Afghanistan in December 2024. Since then, he featured in the SA20 in 2025 and then the Major League Cricket (MLC) in the USA but was out of Asia Cup 2025 with a shoulder injury. He made a comeback at the ILT20 last year and played for MI Emirates (MIE), which were his last competitive matches.
Rashid leaves MICT for national duty
Meanwhile, Rashid Khan has left MI Cape Town at SA20 2026 to captain Afghanistan in the T20Is against West Indies. Kieron Pollard will replace him for the rest of the season. Defending champions MICT are at the bottom of the table with only two wins and five defeats in eight outings. Even Mujeeb Ur Rahman has left Paarl Royals.
Pollard is fresh off leading MIE to a runners-up finish in the ILT20. He had captained MICT in SA20 2024, when they finished last. Pollard scored 225 runs in the ILT20 at a strike rate of 141.50. He hit 15 sixes, the joint third-most in the competition.
Pollard is not expected to captain MICT, though, with the team set to announce a replacement for Rashid the captain on Friday. Rassie van der Dussen and Ryan Rickelton are the front-runners for the role. Rickelton is leading the run charts thus far with 324 runs at a strike rate of 167.01 at the top of the order. He has scored two centuries this season, identical scores of 113 against Durban's Super Giants and Joburg Super Kings. Rashid was MICT's most economical bowler (7.92) and picked up six wickets. He also faced 21 balls for 36 runs (strike rate of 171.42).