Afghanistan name former India fielding coach R Sridhar as assistant coach for NZ and SA series

Afghanistan Cricket Board have appointed former India fielding coach R Sridhar as assistant coach for the men’s national team for the upcoming bilateral series against New Zealand and South Africa.

“It is worth mentioning that the Afghanistan Cricket Board has appointed Sridhar as the assistant coach for the one-off Test against New Zealand and the 3-match ODI series against South Africa. The Afghanistan Cricket Board wish Sridhar fills the role effectively and hope to have long term contract with him in the future,” the board stated.

Sridhar, who played 35 first-class matches and 15 List A matches for Hyderabad, was part of the Indian coaching staff between 2014 and 2021. He was replaced by T Dilip when Rahul Dravid took over as head coach in November 2021.

Afghanistan men’s national team are scheduled to play New Zealand in a one-off Test and South Africa across three ODIs in September. Afghanistan have been on a fine run of late.

Led by Rashid Khan, Afghanistan had made a historic first appearance in an ICC tournament semifinal at 2024 T20 World Cup after defeating the likes of New Zealand and Australia.

Last year at the ODI World Cup in India, the team had got the better of former champions England, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

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Sridhar’s appointment is the latest among a rich list of overseas signings for the coaching staff since former England batter Jonathan Trott took over. For the ODI World Cup, Afghanistan had roped in Ajay Jadeja as the team mentor. Similarly at the T20 World Cup, Dwayne Bravo as bowling consultant.

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