QUETTA (PAN): The national cricket team's new batting coach says he is determined to make Afghanistan one of the best squads in the world.

Former Pakistan caption Rashid Latif, a resident of the port city of Karachi, was recently hired as batting coach by the Afghanistan Cricket Board.

He would soon visit the eastern city of Jalalabad to meet Afghan cricketers, Latif said in an interview with Pajhwok Afghan News on Wednesday.

All praise for Afghanistan's heroics in recent international events, the coach said: "I'm optimistic they will emerge as one of the finest sides and carve out a niche for themselves."

A longtime watcher of Afghan players, he critically appraised their performance during last year's training camp in Lahore, capital of eastern Punjab province.

"I know well most of them; they are endowed with outstanding skills and have the knack for upsetting even the superlative outfits," the ex-Pakistani skipper added.

All squads have their flaws that are generally overcome with international exposure, according to Latif, who said it was Afghanistan's misfortune that they did not have ample opportunities to remove their weaknesses.

"I'll do my bit to help the Afghans surmount their batting weak spots," the former wicketkeeper-batsman promised. He praised the team's coach Kabir Khan, who has been known to Latif over the past 22 years.

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