KABUL: Former Zimbabwe captain and England coach Andy Flower has been named Afghanistan consultant for the T20 World Cup starting later this month.
“We are delighted that Andy has joined ACB. Andy has worked with a number of our players in various franchise completions and his vast experience will be very beneficial and useful to help the team in the World Cup,” said Azizullah Fazli, the Afghanistan Cricket Board’s (ACB) new chairman.
He joins a coaching staff that also includes former Australia fast bowler Shaun Tait, who was appointed the bowling coach in August for a five-month tenure, and head coach Lance Klusener.
Flower played 63 tests and 213 one-day international matches for Zimbabwe from 1992 to 2003, then coached England from 2009 to 2014, helping them win the T20 World Cup in 2010.
He has also coached in T20 leagues across the world, including the Indian Premier League and the Pakistan Super League. The T20 World Cup will be held in the United Arab Emirates and Oman from Oct 17.
Afghanistan are in Group 2 alongside India, Pakistan, New Zealand and two qualifiers. They will be led by Mohammad Nabi at the World Cup after star player Rashid Khan stepped down from captaincy.
The Taliban, who took control of Afghanistan in August, have said they would not interfere with men’s cricket, but the fate of the women’s programme remains unclear. The governing International Cricket Council (ICC) will discuss Afghanistan and women’s cricket at its next board meeting during the World Cup.
Last month, Cricket Australia threatened to scrap a test match against the men’s team if the Taliban did not allow women to play the sport.
