Afghanistan fall to 11th spot in ICC’s ODI rankings

KABUL fell to 11^th position in the International Cricket Council (ICC) One-Day International (ODI) rankings after losing the series to Ireland.

Opener Paul Stirling’s superb century and a magic bowling spell by George Dockrell powered Ireland to a convincing triumph in the third one-day international in Sharjah on Sunday night.

The left-arm spinner bagged four wickets to restrict Afghanistan to 177 in 48.2 overs, with Stirling smashing a 97-ball 101 to hand their side the second consecutive win.

 Afghanistan’s skipper Asghar Stanikzai failed to lead from the front. He scored 19 runs in three matches, including two runs off 22 balls in the first ODI, which Afghanistan won.

He faced as many as 23 deliveries for 12 runs in the second encounter and 24 for five in the third and final match. Ireland won both encounters, hands down, and thus clinched the series 2-1.

According to the ICC rankings, Afghanistan have dropped from 10^th to 11^th position. However, they are still ahead of Ireland.

Cricket expert Babrak Umar, dissatisfied with the team’s performance, urged the president to appoint profession individuals to the board to protect the permanent membership of the ACB in the ICC.

Former ACB chairman Shazada Masoud also showed disappointment with the way the Afghan squad had played the last two ODIs and asked players to improve their performances.

nh/mud