Afghanistan captain Gulbadin Naib admits losing Mohammad Shahzad for the rest of the World Cup is a major blow to his side's hopes of upsetting the odds in the tournament.
Wicketkeeper-batsman Shahzad was ruled out on Thursday after suffering a recurrence of a nagging knee injury.
Minnows Afghanistan have lost their first two matches and could ill afford to lose the popular opener ahead of their clash with New Zealand in Taunton on Saturday.
"Obviously it's a big loss for our side," Naib told reporters on Friday.
"Shahzad is a great player for Afghanistan. He did a lot. I'm also upset for him -- the last two, three weeks he's been struggling with his knee.
"He can't move right. In the last two weeks, I checked with the doctor and physio. I gave the time to him to recover. But unfortunately it's bad luck for Shahzad."
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content