Afghanistan has appointed former Pakistan captain Inzamam Ul Haq as their head coach. Inzamam has initially been signed only for Afghanistan’s upcoming tour of Zimbabwe. But a spokesman for the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) said Friday that Inzamam’s contract can be extended for up to two years. Inzamam’s last coaching assignment at the international level was a short-term stint as Pakistan’s batting consultant in 2012-13. “Inzamam’s tenure is currently for the Zimbabwe tour and then we will be having a few meetings in Zimbabwe and after that we will be deciding, on mutual agreement, for the longer term,” ACB CEO Shafiq Stanikzai was quoted as saying. Afghanistan are due to leave for Harare to play a five-match one-day series against Zimbabwe starting on October 16.
Most of the Afghan players learned the game in refugee camps on the Pakistan border after Soviets invaded Afghanistan in 1979. They burst on to the cricket world stage in 2009, graduating from Division Five to Division One in the International Cricket Council programme. Since then they have featured in three World Twenty20 tournaments, and earlier this year made their maiden appearance in the 50-over World Cup held in Australia and New Zealand. They also won a silver medal in the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, China.
Since his retirement in 2007, Inzamam has kept himself away from major cricket activities. He did appear in a couple of TV programmes as an analyst. He is mostly occupied with religious activities and his business ventures. Afghanistan have been without a head coach since they decided not to renew Andy Moles’ contract in August. Stanikzai said various candidates had applied for the post of coach since then, among whom the “leading candidates were Sridharan Sriram from India and Inzamam from Pakistan.” Sriram, the former India batsman, served as a batting consultant with the Australia A team during their recent tour of India and was set to play the same role for the Australia side on their tour of Bangladesh, which now stands postponed.
