Naveen-ul-Haq takes a break from ODIs to prepare for 2022 T20 World Cup

Afghanistan fast bowler Naveen-ul-Haq has decided to take a break from ODIs until the T20 World Cup in Australia, scheduled to be held in October-November this year. In a statement sent to the Afghanistan Cricket Board on January 2, Naveen said that he wanted the time to prepare to try and be at his best at the global tournament.

"I have made a decision to take a leave from ODI cricket with immediate effect," he said in the note. "My decision is based on considering the upcoming T20 World Cup in Australia coming later this year, and I want to prepare myself physically and mentally for the event."

Naveen added that he would remain "fully available for national duty for all T20 games".

The 22-year-old has played seven ODIs so far since his debut in the format in 2016, the last of which came against Ireland in January 2021. That was also Afghanistan's last match in the format. Afghanistan have not played too much cricket since then anyway, just a Test and T20I series against Zimbabwe in March and then the T20 World Cup in October-November, all in the UAE.

Afghanistan's next scheduled ODI assignment is one against Netherlands later this month, with the matches set to take place in Qatar. The three ODIs in the series are part of the ODI World Cup Super League.

Apart from ODIs, Naveen has represented Afghanistan in 13 T20Is, and has also been a fixture in some T20 leagues around the world, most recently the Lanka Premier League, where he played for Colombo Stars and bagged ten wickets in nine matches at an average of 21.