Afghanistan cricketer Najeeb Tarakai dies after road accident
Afghanistan’s opening batsman Najeeb Tarakai has passed away following a tragic road accident. Afghanistan Cricket Board confirmed the development. He was 29-year old and last appeared on the cricket field in September 2020. He was involved in Afghanistan’s domestic T20 tournament.
Tarakai was hit by a car in Jalalabad city. He was then shifted to a nearby hospital. The cricketer was in a coma after the incident and remained unmoved for a number of hours. Many fans pleaded the Afghanistan Cricket Board to shift him to Kabul.
ACB and Afghanistan Cricket Loving Nation mourns the heart breaking & grievous loss of its aggressive opening batsman & a very fine human being Najeeb Tarakai (29) who lost his life to tragic traffic accident leaving us all shocked!
May Allah Shower His Mercy on him pic.twitter.com/Ne1EWtymnO
— Afghanistan Cricket Board (@ACBofficials) October 6, 2020
The opening batsman has represented the national side in a solitary One-day International and has featured in 12 T20Is. Tarakai earned a Player of the Match award in a T20I against Ireland for his impressive 90-run knock off 58 balls at Greater Noida. His last international appearance was in 2019 against Bangladesh in a T20I at Dhaka.
Tarakai also played 24 First-class matches, scoring 2030 runs at an impressive average of 47.20. The right-hand batsman struck six First-class centuries and 10 half-centuries. Tarakai’s latest on-field appearance was for Mis Ainak Knights in the Shpageeza Cricket League where he scored 32 off 22 including 5 fours and a six.
