Less than a month ahead of the T20 World Cup, Afghanistan have faced a massive setback as their star quick performer Naveen Ul-Haq has been ruled out of the three-match T20I series against West Indies next week, along with the T20 World Cup, starting next month. The reports have claimed that he will undergo surgery later this month. 

The Afghanistan Cricket Board is yet to announce a replacement for Naveen-Ul-Haq, but they had named mystery spinner AM Ghazanfar, batter Ijaz Ahmadzai, and seamer Zia Ur Rahman Sharifi in the reserves for the world event. The replacement is expected to come among those three players.

See Also: Watch: Bangladesh fans lose cool outside stadium after BPL 2026 matches postponed

While the nature of Nabin’s injury is still not known, it’s another blow for him, who last played for the national side in December 2024, after which he featured in SA20 in 2025 and the Major League Cricket in the USA, but was out of the Asia Cup 2025 with a shoulder injury.

Naveen-Ul-Haq got ruled out of T20 World Cup 2026

Naveen made his comeback at the International League T20 last year and played for MI Emirates, which were his last competitive matches. The Kabul-born has overall picked up 67 wickets in 48 innings at an average of under 19 and an economy rate of 7.78 for the Afghanistan side.

However, the pacer comes with a massive experience of the T20 format, having played around the world in various franchise leagues, where he has picked up a total of 271 wickets in 221 innings at an average of 24.11 and a strike rate of just over 17 and an economy rate of 8.39. He has the best bowling figures of 5 for 11 in an innings.

For the MI Emirates, he picked up four wickets in two innings at an average of 14 and then an economy rate of seven with the best bowling figures of two wickets for 27 runs. Meanwhile, their captain, Rashid Khan, has returned from South Africa to join the national side for the West Indies series, which will be a great preparation for the Asian team ahead of the World Cup, which begins on February 7 in India and Sri Lanka.

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have to find a proper replacement for pacer Mustafizur Rahman. After spending a record amount of over INR 9 crore on the Bangladeshi pacer, the franchise had to release him as per BCCI's instruction. Now, ahead of the IPL 2026 season, KKR will have to find a suitable player who can fill the vacant place.

According to some speculations, the multi-time IPL-winning franchise can rope in Afghanistan pacer Naveen-Ul-Haq for the upcoming season. The Afghan pacer, who has a lot of experience in the T20 format, can add extra firepower in KKR's bowling department. The chances of seeing the Afghan pacer joining KKR have increased as he skipped the players draft of the Pakistan Super League 2026 (PSL 2026).

In a separate report, it is claimed that star cricketers of Afghanistan are not going to take part in PSL 2026; Naveen-Ul-Haq is one of them.

Read More: T20 World Cup 2026: 3 players who could replace Tilak Varma

KKR can sign Afghan pacer Naveen-Ul-Haq for IPL 2026 season

So far, the 26-year-old has played only a couple of Indian Premier League seasons. For the IPL 2023 and IPL 2024 seasons, he was with Lucknow Super Giants. But more than his bowling skills, it was the controversial moment with Virat Kohli that took him under the spotlight. The on-field fight between Virat Kohli and Naveen-ul-Haq became one of the major controversies during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023. During the match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), Kohli got involved in a heated argument with Naveen, with the fight taking an ugly turn.

Now, if we talk about the seamer's bowling stats in the IPL, then in those two campaigns with LSG, he claimed a total of 25 wickets in 18 matches, but with an economy rate of 9.16, which is slightly on the higher side. Still, his wicket-taking ability is undeniable. 

During the 2025 New Chandigarh T20I between India and South Africa, Indian left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh had a horrible experience with a 13-ball over, due to the rain of wides. Here, we are talking about the overs in T20I history with the most balls bowled by a bowler, only considering the Full Member teams.  

Most balls bowled in an over by any bowler in T20I cricket (only Full Member Teams)

13 balls by Arshdeep Singh (India) vs South Africa, New Chandigarh 2025

South African opener Quinton de Kock was unstoppable, as all the Indian bowlers found it impossible to stop the left-handed batter, who was going on with a 200+ strike rate. Arshdeep Singh returned to the second spell of the match in the 11th over, just after the break. The left-arm Indian pacer delivered seven wides, including four consecutive wides, after starting the new spell with an over boundary to dangerous De Kock. Although Arshdeep conceded six and seven wides, he ultimately conceded 18 runs in that over.

Watch: Gautam Gambhir’s angry reaction after Arshdeep Singh bowled 7 wides in IND vs SA 2nd T20I

13 balls by Naveen-ul-Haq (Afghanistan) vs Zimbabwe, Harare 2024

It was the first game of the three-match T20I series between the hosts Zimbabwe and the visitors Afghanistan at Harare in 2024. Chasing down the 145-run target, the Chevrons reached the target on the final over of the match and won by four wickets. The 15th over of the second innings can be called a game-changer, as Zimbabwe were 57 runs away in 36 balls, while they still had eight wickets in hand. Afghan pacer Naveen-ul-Haq had a 13-ball over in the 15th over, where the right-arm pacer recorded six wides and one no-ball. To handle a free hit due to a waist-high full toss no ball, which ended in a boundary, Naveen conceded four straight wides before the free hit ultimately ended with a four. However, Naveen also took a wicket after the free hit ended by dismissing Sikandar Raza for just nine runs. Naveen conceded 19 runs in that over while picking up one wicket. 

12 balls by Sisanda Magala (South Africa) vs Pakistan, Johannesburg 2021

It was the second T20I between South Africa and Pakistan at Johannesburg in 2021, where South Africa won by six wickets after successfully chasing the 141-run target in 14 overs. It was the 12th over of the first innings when the South African right-arm pacer Sisanda Magala delivered a 12-ball over, including three no-balls and three wides. Magala started his over with three straight no-balls, following one wide, as the free hit ultimately ended with a four. Magala conceded a total of 18 runs in that over. 

Afghanistan has faced a massive blow ahead of their next fixture against Bangladesh in the Men’s T20 Asia Cup 2025 at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi, with their star player getting ruled out due to a shoulder injury. Naveen Ul Haq, the veteran pacer, won’t be able to take part in the rest of the event, as the Afghanistan Cricket Board revealed.

Naveen-Ul-Haq didn’t feature during their opening clash against Hong Kong China at the same venue. The right-arm pacer has picked up 67 wickets in his 48 innings of the T20I career at an average of 18.73 and a strike rate of 14.4 with an economy rate of 7.78, thanks to the best bowling figure of 4/20 in an inning. Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) posted a new update.

See Also: Pakistan knock on ICC’s door to remove this member from Asia Cup 2025 after defeat against India

“Afghanistan's veteran fast bowler, Naveen Ul Haq, has been ruled out of the ACC Men's T20 Asia Cup 2025. He is still recovering from a shoulder injury and has not been declared fit by the ACB medical team to participate in the remaining matches. Naveen will continue to undergo intensive treatment and rehabilitation until he is fully fit.” ACB posted on X (formerly known as Twitter).

Afghanistan name Abdullah Ahmadzai to replace injured Naveen Ul Haq for Asia Cup 2025

Naveen’s miss will be huge for Afghanistan in the experience department. The right-arm pacer has overall picked up 267 wickets in 219 innings in the shortest format at an average of 24.26 and a strike rate of 17.3 with an economy rate of 8.40, thanks to six four-wicket hauls and one five-wicket haul.

The 22-year-old, Abdullah Ahmadzai, will replace Naveen in the squad. The right-arm pacer has already featured in a T20I against the UAE earlier this year during the tri-series. In that game, he ended with figures of 1/31 in three overs. In the overall 11 innings of the T20s, he grabbed 15 scalps at an average of under 17 and an economy rate of 7.14.

Afghanistan, who are at the top of Group B with a net run rate of +4.70, will need just one more victory out of their remaining two games against Bangladesh and Sri Lanka to qualify for the Super Four stage of the competition.

In the 21st match of the MLC 2025, Texas Super Kings vs MI New York (TEX vs NY) will be played on Sunday evening, June 29 (starting at 01:30 IST on June 30) at Grand Prairie Stadium.

MLC 2025, Match 21: TEX vs NY Probable XIs

Texas Super Kings Predicted Playing XI: Smit Patel (wk), Faf du Plessis (Captain), Saiteja Mukkamalla, Shubham Ranjane, Milind Kumar, Donovan Ferreira, Calvin Savage, Nandre Burger/Adam Milne, Akeal Hossain/Zia Ul Haq Muhammad, Noor Ahmad

MI New York Predicted Playing XI: Monank Patel, Quinton de Kock (wk), Nicholas Pooran (Captain), Kieron Pollard, Michael Bracewell, Heath Richards, Tajinder Dhillon, Nosthush Kenjige, Trent Boult, Naveen-ul-Haq, Sunny Patel

See Also: MLC 2025: Probable Playing XI for TEX vs NY

MLC 2025, Match 21: TEX vs NY Dream11 Top Captains And Vice-captains

Top 3 Dream11 Captain choices

Monank Patel: USA cricketer Monank Patel is the third leading run-scorer in the MLC 2025 with 287 runs in six innings (average 47.83 and strike rate 164.00), including three half-centuries. His scores in this tournament are 62, 20, 93, 32, 60, and 20 runs, respectively.

Quinton de Kock: Former South African cricketer Quinton de Kock has scored 211 runs in six innings in the MLC 2025 with an average of 35.16 and a strike rate of 147.55, including three half-centuries. In this tournament, the left-handed batter has scored 8, 63, 14, 55, 70, and 1 runs. 

Noor Ahmad: Afghan left-arm spinner Noor Ahmad has taken 10 wickets in six games in the MLC 2025. He has recorded one four-fer and one three-fer in this tournament. 

Top 3 Dream11 Vice-captain choices

Faf du Plessis: With one century and one half-century, former South African cricketer Faf du Plessis has scored 214 runs in this tournament with an average of 35.66 and a strike rate of 172.58. In the last three innings, his scores are 100, 69, and 12 runs. 

Nicholas Pooran: After some poor performances in the ongoing MLC season, Caribbean cricketer Nicholas Pooran finally produced his familiar batting performance in their last game, where he scored 108 not out in 60 balls with seven fours and eight sixes. 

Naveen-ul-Haq: Afghan pacer Naveen-ul-Haq has taken eight wickets in five matches in the MLC 2025, with a record of three two-wicket hauls.  

The Seattle Orcas vs MI New York (SEA vs NY) has been scheduled for the 18th match of the MLC 2025 on Friday evening, June 27 (starting at 05:30 IST on June 28), at Grand Prairie Stadium (Grand Prairie).

MLC 2025, Match 18: SEA vs NY Probable XIs

Seattle Orcas Predicted Playing XI: Shayan Jahangir (wk), Aaron Jones, David Warner, Kyle Mayers, Heinrich Klaasen (Captain), Shimron Hetmyer, Sikandar Raza, Harmeet Singh, Cameron Gannon, Obed McCoy, Jasdeep Singh

MI New York Predicted Playing XI: Monank Patel, Quinton de Kock (wk), Nicholas Pooran (Captain), Kieron Pollard, Michael Bracewell, Heath Richards, Tajinder Dhillon, Nosthush Kenjige, Trent Boult, Naveen-ul-Haq, Sunny Patel

See Also: MLC 2025: Probable Playing XI for SEA vs NY

MLC 2025, Match 18: SEA vs NY Dream11 Top Captains And Vice-captains

Top 3 Dream11 Captain choices

Monank Patel: The USA cricketer Monank Patel is the third leading run-scorer in the MLC 2025 with 267 runs in five innings (average 53.40, and strike rate 165.83), including three half-centuries. His scores in this tournament are 62, 20, 93, 32, and 60 runs, respectively. 

Quinton de Kock: Former South African wicketkeeper-batter Quinton de Kock has scored 210 runs in five innings of the MLC 2025, including three half-centuries. He has scored 8, 63, 14, 55, and 70 runs, respectively, this season. 

Michael Bracewell: New Zealand cricketer Mitchael Bracewell has scored 147 runs and taken four wickets in the MLC 2025. His scores with the bat in this tournament are 38, 17, 50*, 42*, and 0 runs, respectively.

Top 3 Dream11 Vice-captain choices

Harmeet Singh: USA left-arm spinner Harmeet Singh has taken seven wickets in five matches in the MLC 2025, including picking up three wickets in their last game of the season. 

Naveen-ul-Haq: Afghan right-arm pacer Naveen-ul-Haq has taken eight wickets in five matches of the MLC 2025, including recording two wickets in three games. He has taken at least one wicket in every match of this season.  

Kieron Pollard: Caribbean legend Kieron Pollard has scored 131 runs and taken two wickets in five matches of the MLC 2025, while the right-handed batter’s strike rate in this tournament is 195.52 with the help of 13 fours and eight sixes. Pollard’s scores in this tournament are 32, 30, 26*, 9, and 34* runs, respectively, while he picked up two wickets in the last game. 

The Antigua & Barbuda Falcons have announced a power-packed lineup for the 2025 Caribbean Premier League (CPL), gearing up for their inaugural season in the league. With the aim of making a big impression to start with, the franchise has blended experienced internationals along with talented young players through savvy signings and the draft held on 18 June. Cricket lovers worldwide tuned in to watch the new team take shape during the televised draft show.

Leading the charge for the Falcons is a robust overseas contingent featuring Bevon Jacobs (New Zealand), Naveen ul Haq and Allah Ghazanfar (Afghanistan), Shakib Al Hasan (Bangladesh), and Imad Wasim (Pakistan). These foreign superstars are likely to bring firepower and depth to the batting and bowling lineups. The CPL 2025 tournament will begin on 14 August and extend through to 21 September, with games staged in different Caribbean countries and concluding with the final event in Guyana.

Adding to the tournament’s developmental goals, Falcons also selected budding local talent in the last three rounds of the draft, which were allocated for players from the West Indies Breakout League. With this regulation requiring each game to have at least one such player, the Falcons are well-positioned to present burgeoning Caribbean players along with international veterans.

See Also: CPL 2025: Trinbago Knight Riders announce their squad for upcoming season

Antigua & Barbuda Falcons Squad for CPL 2025

The Antigua & Barbuda Falcons 2025 team comprises Imad Wasim, Shakib Al Hasan, Fabian Allen, Naveen ul Haq, Obed McCoy, Justin Greaves, Bevon Jacobs, Jayden Seales, Allah Ghazanfar, Rahkeem Cornwall, Odean Smith, Jewel Andrew, Shamar Springer, Amir Jangoo, Karima Gore, Kevin Wickham, and Joshua James.

🚨 CPL Update

Antigua & Barbuda Falcons have announced their squad for CPL 2025. They've signed following overseas players :

Bevon Jacobs 🇳🇿
Naveen ul Haq 🇦🇫
Allah Ghazanfar 🇦🇫
Shakib Al Hasan 🇧🇩
Imad Wasim 🇵🇰#CPL2025 pic.twitter.com/dX18Deikn8

— T20 Franchise Rosters (Men) (@t20tracker) June 18, 2025

On Wednesday evening (June 18), the MI New York vs Seattle Orcas (NY vs SEA) match will be played at the Oakland Coliseum in Oakland during the ninth match of the MLC 2025. It will be the third match for both teams in this tournament. 

Monank Patel: USA cricketer Monank Patel has scored 62 and 20 runs in MI New York's first two matches of the MLC 2025. 

Harmeet Singh: USA left-arm spinner Harmeet Singh is in good form with the ball, and he picked up three wickets in the first two matches of this MLC season.

The first T20I between Zimbabwe and Afghanistan turned out to be a mouthwatering thriller at the Harare Sports Club. Zimbabwe managed to snatch a win on the final ball of the match scripting their maiden T20I win against Afghanistan. The game went all the way down to the wire and Musekiwa held his nerve to hit the winning runs for his side. 

Following the defeat, Naveen-ul-Haq's poor performance with the ball came under the scanner. The speedster was all over the place during the 15th over of the run chase and took as many as 13 balls to complete the over which comprised one no-ball and four back-to-back wide deliveries.

See also: Australia's pace trio signed as BBL supplementary players

A peek into Naveen's disastrous show in the first T20I

Naveen ul-Haq's expensive 13-ball over had a decisive role to play in Zimbabwe's emphatic 4-wicket win yesterday. Although Naveen concluded his spell with figures of 3-33 which included one maiden over, the Afghani speedster lost the plot during the 15th over. The pressure was released and that over brought down the equation to a little over a run-a-ball for Zimbabwe. 

Can you count how many balls did he bowl in that over? Because we lost count!😵‍💫

Afghanistan's Naveen-Ul-Haq bowled a lengthy 14th over which proved to be decisive!🫣#ZIMvAFGonFanCode pic.twitter.com/MdeAWHJlEg

— FanCode (@FanCode) December 11, 2024

The over started with a wide to Bennett followed by a single. The next delivery was a no-ball to Raza which the batter dispatched to the boundary. However, the incoming free-hit ball lasted four balls as Naveen conceded four consecutive wides on the trot. He eventually landed the next ball within the wide tramline but was punished by Raza with a boundary. 

But in the third legitimate ball, Raza was removed which brought Burl to the crease. Burl and Bennett took singles in the next two deliveries. Naveen bowled another wide in that over before concluding it with a single. 

Naveen fails to contain in the death overs

After a horror show during the 15th over, Naveen was given yet another go from his skipper to set things right. But the 24-year-old failed to redeem himself in the crunch situation. With 21 needed in the final two overs, the game was very much tilted in Afghanistan's favor. Although he did not concede a single extra, Naveen still managed to leave 10 runs thus bringing the equation down to 11 in the final over. Azmatullah was entrusted with the final over but Musekiwa showcased nerves of steel to score all the remaining 11 runs to propel the Cheverons to their first win against Afghanistan in the shortest format. 

Former India player Gautam Gambhir asked fans to stop trolling and making fun of cricketers both on the ground as well as on social media after Virat Kohli and Naveen-ul-Haq ended their spat with a warm gesture as well. India played against Afghanistan in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on Wednesday, October 11.

However, the build-up to the match was the hype around the Kohli-Naveen clash after both were involved in an ugly spat during the Indian Premier League (IPL) earlier this year. And, both of them showed great maturity and decided to end that during the match on Wednesday. During India’s chase, they exchanged a handshake and even patted each other on the back as well. Meanwhile, Gambhir, who also got involved in the spat during IPL, was on commentary when Kohli and Naveen did that as well.

Sharing his thoughts on the same, he added: “You fight on the field, not off the field. Every player has the right to fight for his team, fight for respect, and fight to win. It doesn’t matter which country you belong to or how good of a player you are. The good thing was when we saw Virat Kohli and Naveen Ul Haq in between the overs, we can see that the fight has ended.”

See also: ICC Cricket World Cup 2023: Australia vs South Africa, 10th Match – Toss Update, Playing XIs

Giving a stern message to fans, he shared: “I would also want to tell the crowd and fans that any player in the ground or on social media, shouldn’t be trolled or made fun of. You are passionate when you represent your team. It was a huge thing for Naveen to play in IPL for the first time coming from Afghanistan.”

Meanwhile, Virat Kohli remained unbeaten on 55 off 56 balls as Team India chased down 273 in 35 overs with eight wickets to spare. The Indian team then registered their second win as well.

See also: “It’s crucial that we don’t worry about external factors and just look at things we can control” – Rohit Sharma

“He said we are done with that, and I said yes” – Naveen-ul-Haq on interaction with Virat Kohli

While speaking after the India-Afghanistan match, speedster Naveen-ul-Haq opined on his interaction with Kohli and also the controversial incident between the two during IPL 2023. He added things went out of hand by people on the outside as well.

“He [Kohli] is a nice guy, a good player, and we shook hands. It’s always in the ground; it was nothing outside the ground. People make it big. They need that stuff for their followers. He said we are done with that, and I said yes, we are done with it. We shook hands and hugged,” he concluded.