Afghanistan’s mystery spinner AM Ghazanfar was ruled out of the tournament due to injury, dealing them a severe blow ahead of the Champions Trophy.
The L4 vertebra of the right-arm offspinner, who was selected for the major competition in place of fellow finger-spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman, was fractured.
Mujeeb, who was not included in the original Champions Trophy team and hasn’t played for Afghanistan since the trip of Zimbabwe, spent the entire SA20 season with the Paarl Royals through January and the first part of February. It has also been determined that he has not entirely recovered from his prior injuries.
“AM Ghazanfar, has been ruled out of the ICC Champions Trophy due to a fracture in the L4 vertebra, specifically in the left pars interarticularis.” in a statement released on Wednesday by ACB.
“He (Ghazanfar) sustained the injury during Afghanistan’s recently held tour Zimbabwe, and will be sidelined for a minimum of four months and will remain under treatment during this period,” it stated.
Originally listed as a reserve, left-arm spinner Nangeyalia Kharote has now taken Ghazanfar’s place in the starting lineup.
Due to the injury, the 18-year-old spinner, who signed his first IPL deal with the Mumbai Indians for INR 4.8 crores, will be unable to participate in the competition, which is set to take place from March 21 to May 25.Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmad, Mohammad Nabi, and Kharote—who hasn’t played for Afghanistan since the ODI series against Bangladesh in Sharjah in November—will be among the four spinners in Afghanistan’s team.
