5 cricketers who have changed their names. Most people change their names for a variety of reasons. Let us take a look at 5 cricketers who have done the same.
We all have names given to us around our birth. While most of us carry these names to our graves, there are a few who go ahead and change. There are many reasons as to why one would make that change such as changing one’s religion or for sentimental reasons.
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Some people even change their names out of their idolatry of someone that they look up to. It is not always however, that the change is accepted by one’s family and in some cases even causes conflict within families.
Here at Sportsrush, we will look at 5 cricketers who have undergone a name change and look at the reasons why they made the change. With that out of the way, let us take a look at 5 cricketers who have changed their names.
#5) Asghar Afghan (Afghanistan)
Former Afghanistan captain Asghar Afghan was born Mohammad Asghar Stanikzai. The middle order batsman decided to change his surname back in August 2018. When asked about the surname, he answered that he was pleased to have included the word ‘Afghan’ beside his name. He also mentioned how it was the national duty of the Afghans to protect their national identity.
The decision became official when Afghan registered for the new Electronic National Identity Cards (E-tazkira). Later the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) had also posted about the change of name on their official Twitter handle.
Asghar is one of Afghanistan’s longest serving players and was even named their captain for their inaugural Test match against India. However, he was stripped off the captaincy across all three formats earlier this year in April.