Rashid Khan Could Lose T20I Captaincy After Afghanistan’s T20 World Cup Exit

Afghanistan Cricket Board is considering major team changes after the T20 World Cup 2026 exit, with Rashid Khan’s T20I captaincy under review.

Afghanistan Cricket Board has begun a major restructuring after the team’s poor T20 World Cup 2026 campaign. The board replaced head coach Jonathan Trott with Richard Pybus. Earlier, Toby Radford joined the staff as batting coach before the tournament.

ACB officials now plan further changes within the team. Rashid Khan currently leads Afghanistan in T20Is. Under his leadership, the team exited the T20 World Cup in the first round. Afghanistan also failed to progress beyond the opening stage of the Asia Cup in 2025.

These consecutive results have started discussions about the future. Chief executive Naseeb Khan indicated that Rashid Khan’s captaincy is under review and changes could be part of the rebuilding process.

“We are currently considering reforms within the team. If you are building a team for the future, changes are inevitable. We have already changed the head coach, batting coach, and trainer, and similar adjustments will also be made within the team. However, no final decision has been made regarding the captaincy yet, so I cannot say at this stage whether it will change or remain the same,” Cricbuzz quoted Naseeb as saying.

However, the board has not taken a final call. Richard Pybus is expected to join the Afghanistan squad after the upcoming Sri Lanka series scheduled in Dubai and Sharjah. The Afghanistan Cricket Board also plans to introduce a new management group for the High Performance Centre.

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Officials want to begin long-term planning for the 2027 and 2028 World Cups. The board aims to promote more domestic players to the national level.

“After the Sri Lanka series, he (Pybus) will come to Afghanistan. We are planning to introduce a new management team for the HPC. We want to start preparations now for the 2027 and 2028 World Cups and also bring Afghanistan’s domestic talent to the international stage,” Naseeb said.

Meanwhile, uncertainty surrounds the Sri Lanka series because of the situation in the Middle East. Naseeb Khan travelled to Dubai to finalise logistics and arrangements. He added that the matches will proceed only if conditions stabilise in the region.