Afghanistan’s Semi-Final Collapse Highlights Scheduling Controversy
Afghanistan’s Semi-Final journey in the T20 World Cup 2024 came to a shocking halt as they delivered a horrific performance, scoring just 56 runs against South Africa. This dismal total turned out to be the lowest in T20 World Cup semi-final in Cricket history and Afghanistan’s lowest in their T20 International journey.
The poor performance gave South Africa a golden chance to secure a spot in the T20 World Cup final for the first time in their history. Former England captain Michael Vaughan has blamed the ‘India factor’ for Afghanistan’s poor preparation and performance.
In a series of social media posts, Vaughan highlighted how the scheduling of the T20 World Cup semi-finals disadvantaged Afghanistan. They had little time to prepare for the showdown against the Proteas in Trinidad after their victory in St. Vincent.
“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,” Vaughan wrote on X.
When a fan pointed out that Afghanistan had played at this venue before, he responded, “I know but it’s still a different venue. You surely earn the right in a semi-final to have at least 1 day’s preparation.”
Vaughan further criticized the decision to schedule the semi-final in Trinidad instead of Guyana, suggesting the change was made to favor India. Afghanistan’s lack of preparation time was evident in their batting collapse, leading to their defeat by 9 wickets.
South Africa capitalized on Afghanistan’s poor performance, securing their first-ever spot in the T20 World Cup final. Meanwhile, the Indian team is set to face England in the second semi-final today.
