Published: Dec 17, 2015, 01:41 PM (IST)
Edited: Dec 17, 2015, 02:06 PM (IST)
Former India all-rounder Manoj Prabhakar has been appointed as the bowling coach for Afghanistan Team. His appointment will run until ICC World Cup Twenty20 2016 to be held in India. Earlier he was the coach for Delhi at 2011 and due to unexpected circumstances was removed since he spoke up his mind against the management. He has been a TV expert for the game, which has urged him to show his bowling skills once again. As per his conversation with The Hindu, “I am glad I can guide the Afghan team. They have immense talent and I am sure, in the years to come, the Afghanistan team would emerge as a force to reckon with in all forms of the game. They have shown a healthy keenness to learn the finer points of the game.” ALSO READ: Ishant Sharma should be replaced by Varun Aaron, says Manoj Prabhakar
He is presently training the Afghan Team for their one-day series against Zimbabwe. Afghanistan is practicing at the Shaheed Vijay Singh Pathik Sports Complex at Greater Noida, which has been adopted as their new home ground. This team has received the camp under the guidance of Prabhakar. Afghanistan was hoping to play the one-day series against Zimbabwe at Greater Noida Stadium but International Cricket Council (ICC) did not sanction the venue. Former North-Zone batsman Venkat Sundaram, in-charge of the stadium activities said, “We would soon have things in place in order to host an international event.” ALSO READ: Afghanistan to play home matches in India, according to MoU signed by both boards
Since Greater Noida was ruled out as option for the venue, Afghanistan gave an option of Vishakapatnam as well but went on to choose Dubai as the venue for the series. The crowd was the securing factor for Afghanistan in Dubai by not going ahead with Vishakapatnam. Former Pakistan skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq is the chief coach for Afghanistan Team and would join the team soon at Dubai. As for Prabhakar, he started his career at 1984 where he played 39 Tests and 130 One-Day-Internationals (ODIs).
