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Rashid’s all-round show earns Afghanistan direct 2027 WC spot
Belfast [Ireland], August 11 (ANI): An all-round effort from star spinner Rashid Khan helped Afghanistan seal an automatic spot in the 2027 ODI Cricket World Cup with a three-wicket win over Ireland in the third ODI at Belfast.
With this win on Monday, Afghanistan is 2-0 up in the five-match series. The first match was abandoned without a ball bowled.
In the previous ODI World Cup in 2023, Afghanistan were promising, finishing sixth in the points table with four wins and five losses, narrowly short of contention for a semifinal spot. With wins over defending champions England and former champions Sri Lanka, and Pakistan, they still had a tournament to be proud of. orlando-books.blog
Afghanistan won the toss and elected to field first. Half of the Irish side was back in the hut for 89 runs in the 22nd over.
Gavin Hoey (36 in 67 balls, with two fours) and Jai Moondra (31 in 33 balls, with five fours) put up 76-runs for the ninth wicket. Afghanistan skittled out Ireland for 206 runs in 46.3 overs.
Allah Ghazanfar (3/29) and Rashid (3/44) were exceptional with the ball for Afghanistan.
During the run-chase, openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran (12) put on a 53-run opening stand.
Gurbaz kept one end steady, but he was the fifth wicket down for 71 in 77 balls, with two fours and five sixes at a score of 149. From there, Afghanistan sank to 176/7 in the 36th over and were in a tricky situation.
Rashid played a useful knock of 37* in 43 balls, with four boundaries, putting on a 31-run stand with Yamin Ahmadzai (4*) to take Afghanistan to a win in the 45th over with three wickets in hand.
Rashid won the ‘Player of the Match’ award for his match-winning performance. (ANI)
(This content is sourced from a syndicated feed and is published as received. The Tribune assumes no responsibility or liability for its accuracy, completeness, or content.)
‘Till Now, I Am the Captain’: Shaheen Afridi Addresses Babar Azam ODI Captaincy Reports
Pakistan fast bowler Shaheen Afridi has said that he is still the national team’s ODI captain amid reports suggesting that Babar Azam could soon take charge across all three formats.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is reportedly considering handing Babar the ODI captaincy after appointing him as the Test skipper. Amid growing speculation, Shaheen addressed the situation.
When Shaheen was asked whether white-ball head coach Mike Hesson and selector Aaqib Javed backed him as ODI captain, Shaheen said, “Till now, I am the captain,” as quoted by NDTV.
According to Telecom Asia Sport, the PCB has promised Babar the captaincy in all formats. The report also claimed that Babar accepted the Test captaincy on the condition that he would eventually be appointed all-format skipper. Two selectors have reportedly assured him that good results in the two Tests against the West Indies and three in England will help him take over.
Shaheen replaced Mohammad Rizwan as Pakistan’s ODI captain in October last year. He has also guided Lahore Qalandars to three PSL titles in the last five years.
Former Pakistan batter Basit Ali has also predicted that Babar will lead Pakistan at the 2027 ODI World Cup in Africa.
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The post ‘Till Now, I Am the Captain’: Shaheen Afridi Addresses Babar Azam ODI Captaincy Reports appeared first on Sports News Portal | Revsportz.
West Indies to grind it out in 50-over WC Qualifiers for third successive time after Afghanistan seal direct spot
Belfast [Ireland], August 11 (ANI): With Afghanistan sealing their direct spot in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2027, two-time champions West Indies will have to go through qualifiers for the third successive time to make it to the tournament, reported Cricinfo.
The top eight teams in the ODI Rankings on September 30 this year, excluding two of the three WC co-hosts, South Africa and Zimbabwe, are going to get an automatic spot in the 2027 showpiece event. Afghanistan will join defending champions Australia, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, England, Bangladesh, South Africa and Zimbabwe after a win in the third ODI at Belfast.
West Indies, ranked 10th in the ODI rankings, do have two ODIs against India in the cut-off date, but even winning these two ODIs would not be enough for them, and the grind for them will continue with the qualifiers starting in February next year, as per Cricinfo.
West Indies were knocked out of the 2023 WC contention and failed to make it to the tournament as they finished fifth in the Super Six stage and lost to the Netherlands in a shocker. It was the first-ever 50-over World Cup they missed, which also cost them a spot in the ICC Champions Trophy, a competition which they have not featured in since 2013.
The winner of the World Cup qualifier will be getting a direct entry into the group stage phase of the tournament, while the teams finishing second, third and fourth will battle in the ‘Super Series’ round of the World Cup for a spot in the group stage.
This change has not been received well by associate members, particularly Scotland and the Netherlands, who issued a joint statement on Monday to call it out as a “setback to associate member cricket".
The qualifier includes two bottom-ranked, non-host, Test-playing nations in the ODI Rankings as of September 30, 2026 (Ireland and West Indies), the top four teams from the Cricket World Cup League two and the top four teams from the World Cup Qualifier Playoff. The World Cup Qualifier Playoff will feature the last four teams of CWC League Two and four teams from the Challenge League (the third-division of cricket). The format is yet to be decided, but the top four teams from this eight-team WC Qualifier playoffs will progress to the WC qualifier.
The Challenge League, the third-division of cricket, will have 12 teams divided into two pools of six, each playing three round-robin tournaments during a cycle, and the top two teams from each group will move to the WC Qualifier Playoff. (ANI)
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