Mohammed Nabi in action©
After the ODI series win against Bangladesh, former Afghanistan skipper Mohammad Nabi said he wants to play in the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy, which will be held in Pakistan next year. The 39-year-old played a big role in ensuring Afghanistan recorded a 2-1 win over Bangladesh in Sharjah on Monday as they registered a narrow five-wicket win following an eighth ODI century from opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz. It was Afghanistan's third consecutive victory in the series, following successes over Ireland and South Africa earlier this year
It comes on the back of an excellent recent run at the most recent ICC Men's Cricket World Cup and ICC Men's T20 World Cup, which has seen the side become one of the most exciting white-ball teams in the world.
While Nabi knows he is entering the final phase of his glittering international career, the talented all-rounder sees next year's Champions Trophy event as his last chance to win an ICC trophy.
“In my thoughts of the last (50-over) World Cup I was thinking about retiring but if I can play one Champions Trophy that would be great for me. Just small contributions from my side to the youngsters and my insight in them will be more useful,” said Nabi as quoted by the ICC
Nabi contributed 135 runs and two wickets in the series against Bangladesh, with his valuable 34* at the end helping Afghanistan chase down their opponents' total of 244/8 with just 10 deliveries remaining at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.
Fellow all-rounder Azmatullah Omarzai was named Player of the Match in the third match for his four wickets and unbeaten 70* alongside Nabi at the end of the chase, while Gurbaz found form with a blistering innings of 101 at the top of the batting order.
It was Gurbaz's third ODI century of the year and eighth overall and helped the dashing right-hander move further up the list for most ODI hundreds of any player from Afghanistan.
Ahead of the Champions Trophy event scheduled for February and March in Pakistan next year, Afghanistan will travel to Zimbabwe for a multi-format tour that will include three T20Is, three ODIs and two Test matches in Bulawayo.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DailyExpertNews staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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