Naveen-ul-Haq ruled out of T20 World Cup 2026 after injury setback for Afghanistan

In cricket, injuries often arrive at the worst possible time. One day a player is shining in T20 leagues, and the next day he is ruled out of a major tournament. Something similar has happened with former Lucknow Super Giants pacer Naveen-ul-Haq. He has officially been ruled out of the T20 World Cup 2026 and Afghanistan’s upcoming T20I series against West Indies due to injury.

Naveen-ul-Haq ruled out of T20 World Cup 2026 due to injury, leaving a gap in Afghanistan’s bowling attack

According to ESPNcricinfo, the 26-year-old fast bowler will undergo surgery later this month, which ends any hope of a quick return. The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) is yet to announce his replacement, but Allah Ghazanfar, Ijaz Ahmadzai and Zia Ur Rahman Sharifi are already on standby as backup options. Naveen’s absence is a big blow for Afghanistan, as they lack a specialist death-over bowler like him.

×

Naveen-ul-Haq Bowler

Naveen-ul-Haq Murid is an Afghan right-arm fast-medium bowler and T20 specialist known for his variations, representing Afghanistan internationally and numerous global franchise teams like Lucknow Super Giants (IPL 2024) and MI New York (MLC).

×

Afghanistan Founded: 2001

Director of Cricket -Raees AhmadzaiTest and ODI Captain – Hashmatullah ShahidiT20I Captain – Rashid KhanHead Coach – Jonathan TrottAssistant Coach – R SridharBowling Coach – Hamid HassanBatting – Andrew PuttickFielding Coach – Shane McDermottPhysiotherapy – Julian Calefato

Naveen last played for Afghanistan in December 2024. Since then, he has been active in franchise cricket, featuring in SA20 and Major League Cricket (MLC) in the USA. However, a persistent shoulder injury kept troubling him. He missed the Asia Cup 2025 for the same reason, made a brief comeback in ILT20 for MI Emirates, but then had to step away again.

Afghanistan still have strong bowlers like Fazalhaq Farooqi, Abdollah Ahmadzai and Ziaur Rahman, but none of them have Naveen’s experience in high-pressure moments. He was the bowler Afghanistan relied on in tight situations, especially on slow pitches where skill and variations matter more than pace. In the 2024 T20 World Cup, Naveen was outstanding, taking 13 wickets in 8 matches with an impressive economy rate of 6.00, helping Afghanistan reach their first-ever semi-final.

His IPL journey has also taken a setback. He entered the IPL 2026 auction with a base price of ₹2 crore but went unsold. A few years ago, he was an important player for Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), known for his unique bowling action and control. Although he performed well at times, LSG released him ahead of IPL 2025.

×

Bangladesh T20 World Cup 2026 Matches in India Under Review, ICC to Meet BCB With the T20 World Cup 2026 coming soon, a major topic of discussion is whether the Bangladesh cricket team will be able to travel to India for the tournament.

by Shekhar January 16, 2026