Afghanistan's dream run in the ongoing T20 World Cup finally came to an end when they were knocked out by South Africa in the first semifinal of the showpiece event. The Proteas bundled the Afghans for a meagre 56 - the lowest-ever total by a team in a knockout match in T20 World Cups. South Africa quite comfortably chased down the total, scoring 60 for the loss of just one wicket in just 8.5 overs.
Despite not being able to complete their Cinderella story, Afghanistan can take pride from their impressive performance throughout this edition of the T20 World Cup.
However, Afghanistan's dismal performance in the semifinals might be more than just a bad day in the office - at least according to former England captain Michael Vaughan.
In a post in social media platform 'X' (formerly Twitter) Vaughan expressed his displeasure with the incredibly tight and hectic scheduling that the Afghans had to face during the tournament.
"So Afghanistan qualify for the WC semi winning in St Vincent on Monday night.. 4 hr flight delay on Tues to Trinidad so no time to practice or get accustomed to a new venue.. utter lack of respect to players i am afraid.. #T20WorldCup2024", he tweeted.
Following Afghanistan's victory over Bangladesh in their Super 8 encounter in St Vincent on June 25 (IST), they travelled to Tarouba to face South Africa in the semifinals on June 27 (IST).
Not only this - Vaughan also pointed fingers at the International Cricket Council (ICC) for allegedly being partial to the Indian team, thereby making things 'unfair' for the other teams competing in the tournament.
"Surely this Semi should have been the Guyana one.. but because the whole event is geared towards India it’s so unfair on others.. #T20IWorldCup", he wrote on 'X'.
Published 27 June 2024, 11:02 IST