Naseebullah Haqqani, also known as Naseeb Khan, was named the new ACB executive director.
Hamid Shinwari has been sacked from his position of Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) by the Taliban on September 20. Shinwari confirmed to Reuters that he had been fired as ACB CEO without being given any reason for his sacking.
On his official Facebook page, Shinwari revealed that he had been fired by Anas Haqqani, a senior Taliban official and the younger brother of the Taliban’s new Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani and he was not provided with any reason for his sacking. Later, the Facebook page was apparently deactivated.
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As reported by AFP, Shinwari wrote on Facebook, “Anas Haqqani visited the cricket board and told me very clearly that my job as the (chief) executive officer was over. I was elected to the Cricket Board's executive section after a transparent process, but I did not understand the reason for my dismissal.”
Meanwhile, Shinwari has been replaced by Naseeb Khan, also known as Naseebullah Haqqani, as the new board ACB CEO. The ACB announced Naseeb’s appointment on Twitter.
ACB wrote on Twitter, “Naseeb Khan has been introduced as the new CEO of the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB), by board's Chairman Mr @AzizullahFazli. He holds a master's degree and has knowledge of cricket as well.”
Naseeb is a member of the feared Haqqani network, who was responsible for some of the worst attacks in the history of Afghanistan during the Taliban's 20-year war with successive US-backed governments.
Noteworthy, the Taliban has recently banned the telecast of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL 2021) in Afghanistan due to the presence of female audiences and spectators in stadiums despite their key players Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi, and Mujeeb-ur-Rahman featuring in the T20 league.
(With AFP Inputs)