A “gutted” Afghanistan cricket chief Shafiq Stanikzai apologised to fans on Thursday after the team’s shock defeat by Hong Kong left their hopes of qualifying for the World Cup all but over. After losses to Scotland and hosts Zimbabwe, new Test side Afghanistan’s hopes were hanging by a thread, but they collapsed to 195-9 in pursuit of 242 to beat Hong Kong, with rain ensuring a 30-run defeat on DLS method.
Victory for Hong Kong in either of their two remaining Group B matches against Scotland and Nepal would ensure Rashid Khan’s much-fancied Afghan outfit cannot even reach the Super Six stage.
“Gutted, frustrated and extremely sorry for whatever happened in the ICC cricket World Cup qualifier,” Stanikzai wrote on Twitter.
