Afghanistan batsman Najeeb Tarakai dies after road accident
The 29-year-old batsman was "severely injured in a car accident" on October 2, the Afghanistan board had tweeted on Saturday
ESPNcricinfo staff
06-Oct-2020
Najeeb Tarakai played 12 T20Is and one ODI for Afghanistan • Associated Press
Najeeb Tarakai, the Afghanistan top-order right-hand batsman, has died at age 29 after succumbing to injuries sustained in a road accident, an Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) tweet confirmed on Tuesday. The ACB had tweeted on Saturday that Tarakai was "severely injured in a car accident" on October 2 and had subsequently undergone a surgery. He was being treated in Nangarhar at the time and the ACB had said he would be shifted to "Kabul or outside Afghanistan as soon as possible whenever allowed by health officials."
Tarakai's last appearance in competitive cricket came last month in the Shpageeza Premier League, making 32 for Mis Ainak Knights. He played 12 T20Is and one ODI for Afghanistan. He made his international debut at the 2014 T20 World Cup in Bangladesh, and went on to play against UAE, Ireland, Zimbabwe, Bangladesh and Hong Kong thereafter.
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!
— Afghanistan Cricket Board (@ACBofficials) October 6, 2020
May Allah Shower His Mercy on him pic.twitter.com/Ne1EWtymnO
His highest international score of 90 came during the T20I series against Ireland in March 2017 while he made his final international appearance in September 2019, against Bangladesh. His only ODI was against Ireland in 2017.
Tarakai also played 24 first-class games, scoring 2030 runs at an average of 47.20. He hit six first-class centuries and ten fifties, including a career-high score of 200.