Afghan player Mujeeb Ur Rahman has been excluded from the Big Bash League franchise Melbourne Renegades for the upcoming mid-match of the BBL 2023-24. Mujeeb has been sanctioned by the Afghanistan Cricket Board along with his teammates Naveen-ul-Haq and Fazalhaq Farooqi due to a desire to be left out of Afghanistan’s central contract list for the year 2024.
Mujeeb Ur Rahman will not be able to play in the upcoming Big Bash League match against Melbourne Stars. Melbourne Renegades have excluded Mujeeb due to ‘No Objection’ certificate issues. This was due to sanctions imposed by the Afghanistan Cricket Board, which mentions that Mujeeb will not be able to play any form of league cricket for the next two years.
Mujeeb Ur Rahman ruled out of Melbourne Renegades’ next BBL game
Melbourne Renegades had earlier said in a statement: “The Melbourne Renegades are aware of the matter between Mujeeb Ur Rahman and the Afghanistan Cricket Board. The club has not received any communication that Mujeeb’s availability for the BBL may change from the original plans. Mujeeb remains available for the Melbourne Renegades’ important game against the Perth Scorchers at Optus Stadium. “Mujeeb is a world-class player and a popular member of the team and the club will continue to support him throughout the remainder of the BBL season.”
However, in a new statement they stated: “Mujeeb Ur Rahman has been removed from the squad after a change in the conditions of his NOC left him unavailable for the match.”
The Afghanistan Cricket Board approached Naveen-ul-Haq and Fazalhaq Farooqi and then urged them to want to play international cricket. Both cricketers were included in Afghanistan’s 18-member squad against the United Arab Emirates, while Mujeeb Ur Rahman was left out of the team.
Mujeeb Ur Rahman was the hero of Melbourne Renegades’ only victory in BBL 2023-24 and finished the match against Adelaide Strikers with figures of 3/20. The Renegades could miss Rahman’s presence for the rest of the season.
Mujeeb Ur Rahman last played for Afghanistan in the ODI World Cup 2023 and took 8 wickets in nine matches at an average of 57.25. Rahman has played a vital role in some epic victories recorded by Afghanistan in international cricket and the batsmen have not been able to regain the spin from him.
Afghanistan is currently playing against the United Arab Emirates in a three-match T20I series. Afghanistan was able to win the first match convincingly and won the match by 72 runs. It was Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran, who starred in the match. Afghanistan scored 203/3 while batting first.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz hit a hundred and played an innings of 100 runs off 52 balls. His innings consisted of seven fours and seven sixes. Ibrahim Zadran scored a half-century and scored 59 runs.
Fazalhaq Farooqi and Naveen-ul-Haq took 2 and 1 wickets respectively as UAE could only score 131/4 and ended up losing the match by 72 runs.
However, the UAE came back strong and won the second match by 12 runs as the Afghan team failed to chase 167 runs.
The third match of the T20I series will be played on January 2, 2024 at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.
