|| CF DESK ||

Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan came into defence of Gulbadin Naib’s cramp drama during their Super-8 clash against Bangladesh, stating ‘there was no massive difference’.

Chasing 115 runs, Bangladesh had to chase the total down in 12.1 overs to qualify for the semi-finals. The result of their quick scoring was that they remained ahead of the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern (DLS) par score, meaning that a match abandonment due to rain would see them win.

The scenario changed when Rashid took two wickets in the 11th over, driving up the par score for Bangladesh. In the next over, Bangladesh were two runs behind the par score when the rain started, and Gulbadin appeared to cramp up just after Afghanistan coach Jonathan Trott asked his players to slow the game down to ensure they could win in case of a washout.

Following the match, when asked about the incident, captain Rashid minimized its impact, stating that it had "no significant effect" on the game.

"Well, I think he had some cramp. I don't know what happened to him. I don't know what's going on on social media. But, that doesn't matter. It's just an on-field injury. We didn't lose any overs, rain came, and we just went off (the field). It's not something that made any massive difference in the game. We came back on to the field in 5 minutes, and there was no massive difference. For me, it was just an injury and needed some time," Rashid said.

Afghanistan are set to face South Africa in Tarouba on June 26 for a historic semi-final match for the nation.