ACB appoints Richard Pybus as national team head coach

KABUL (Pajhwok): The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) on Tuesday announced the appointment of Richard Pybus as Head Coach of the Afghanistan National Cricket Team.

In a statement, the ACB said Pybus would join the national squad ahead of the upcoming white-ball series against Sri Lanka scheduled for March.

Describing him as a globally respected cricket leader and performance director, the board said Pybus brings extensive international experience and a proven track record in establishing and managing high-performance systems.

The ACB noted that Pybus is a three-time ICC Cricket World Cup-winning Head Coach and Director of Cricket.

He served as Head Coach, Director of Cricket and Head of High Performance for the West Indies from 2013 to 2019.

During his tenure, he designed and implemented a high-performance structure that resulted in a historic treble of ICC World Cup titles in 2016, when the West Indies men’s, women’s and U19 teams all claimed world championships in the same calendar year — a first in international cricket history.

Previously, Pybus worked as Head Coach of the Pakistan National Cricket Team and guided the side to the ICC Cricket World Cup final in 1999. He also held a senior leadership position with Bangladesh Cricket in 2013.

At the domestic level, Pybus has an outstanding coaching record in South African domestic and franchise cricket, where teams under his leadership secured nine championship titles — a national record.

He was also named South Africa’s Cricket Coach of the Year on two occasions.

The ACB expressed confidence that Pybus’ expertise and leadership would play a key role in further strengthening Afghanistan’s performance in international cricket.

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