KABUL: Former England batter Graham Thorpe has been named head coach of the Afghanistan senior men’s team, following his departure from the England Test set-up in the wake of this winter’s Ashes.
Thorpe, who played 100 test matches for England between 1993-2005, was among the three people who were sacked after England’s below-average Ashes campaign along with head coach Chris Silverwood and managing director Ashley Giles.
Thorpe will be replacing South African Lance Klusener, who left the Afghanistan role in November last year. “The ACB had launched the recruitment process for hiring a new head coach, through which Graham Thorpe was selected as the best available nominee for the position,” the board said.
“He will step up into the role of head coach ahead of the upcoming international events of Afghanistan,” the statement added.
Stuart Law, former Bangladesh, West Indies and Middlesex coach, had been in charge of the national set-up in an interim capacity, while other names in the frame for the role had included Misbah-ul-Haq and Azhar Mahmood.
Thorpe, who is now 52, has scored 6744 runs at 44.66 with 16 centuries in 100 Tests. He has also played 82 One Day Internationals for England and amassed 2380 runs with 21 half-centuries under his name in the format.
In the aftermath of England’s defeat in the fifth and final Test at Hobart, Thorpe caused controversy by filming the arrival of police officers to break up an early-morning drinking session involving several England and Australia players.
The police had allegedly been called due to Thorpe lighting a cigar in an indoor space, which is against the law in Tasmania.
