Michael Vaughan expresses dissatisfaction with difficult timeline for Afghanistan, accuses ICC of favoring India

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 semi-final of the showpiece event. The Proteas bundled out the Afghans for a paltry 56 – the lowest total ever recorded by a team in a knockout match at the T20 World Cup. South Africa chased down the total quite comfortably, 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 be proud of their impressive performance throughout this edition of the T20 World Cup.

However, Afghanistan’s poor performance in the semi-final could be more than just a bad day at the office – at least according to former England captain Michael Vaughan.

In a post on social media platform ‘X’ (formerly Twitter), Vaughan expressed his displeasure with the incredibly tight and packed schedule the Afghans faced during the tournament.

“So Afghanistan have qualified for the World Cup semi-finals by winning in St Vincent on Monday night… 4 hours late on flight to Trinidad on Tuesday so no time to train or get used to a new venue… I fear a total lack of respect for the players… #T20WorldCup2024,” he tweeted.

After Afghanistan’s victory over Bangladesh in their Super 8 encounter in St. Vincent on June 25 (IST), they traveled to Tarouba to face South Africa in the semi-final on June 27 (IST ).

Moreover, Vaughan also pointed the finger at the International Cricket Council (ICC) for its alleged bias towards the Indian team, thereby making things “unfair” for other teams participating in the tournament.

“This semi should surely have been Guyana’s… but since the whole event is geared towards India, it’s so unfair to the others… #T20IWorldCup,” he wrote on ‘X ‘.