The Afghanistan cricket team may have managed to put up a stellar performance on the field in the recent past but the off-field issues are certainly creating a huge headache. Afghanistan Cricket The Board (ACB) is looking for a replacement for head coach Graham Thorpe, reports Espncricinfo.
The report said that the 52-year-old is seriously ill and will not be able to take up coaching duties in the near future.
Thorpe was appointed head coach of Afghanistan in March. Thorpe was appointed as a full-time replacement for Lance Klusener. Klusener, the former South African all-rounder, resigned in November after completing a two-year stint with the Afghanistan cricket team. Prior to this, Thorpe had a 10-year association with the English cricket team. His tenure eventually came to an end after England’s humiliating 4–0 defeat against Australia.
“The ACB initiated the recruitment process to recruit a new head coach, through which Graham Thorpe was selected as the best available nominee for the position,” the ACB said in a press release in March.
Meanwhile, AC have appointed Ryan Maron as their national fielding coach for a period of six months. Prior to this, Maron was associated with the West Indies cricket team as their fielding coach.
At present, the board has selected Rais Khan Ahmedzai as interim coach. During his tenure, Afghanistan featured in three ODIs and T20Is against Zimbabwe. And, the team put on a stellar performance to win all the six matches during that tour. The visitors scripted the whitewash in both the T2OI and ODI series.
Afghanistan will now take on Ireland in a five-match T20I series starting on August 9. Initially, the tour was to consist of one Test match and three ODIs, but keeping in mind the upcoming T20 World The fixtures had to be changed keeping the cup in mind.
Afghanistan will take part in the high-profile T20 World Cup to be held in Australia after the series against Ireland is over. They will begin their T20 World Cup campaign with a group-stage match against England to be played on 22 October.
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