Coach Klusener and Co stuck in a holding pattern
AMIDST the political upheaval in the country, Afghanistan's national cricket coach Lance Klusener has also been left frustrated about the impact it's had on the team's preparations ahead of the T20 World Cup.
It is a sentiment, Klusener said yesterday, that is shared by the players. The Afghanistan team had been in camp preparing for a One-Day series against Pakistan, which was due to be hosted in Sri Lanka, but has subsequently been postponed because there are no flights out of Kabul, following the Taliban's takeover in Afghanistan.
Klusener got back to South Africa last week. “I left a few days before ‘everyone' arrived in Kabul,” Klusener said.
At no point did he feel in any danger. “No, no, not at all. I've been there numerous times. They're such lovely, lovely people. Everyone in Afghanistan simply wants peace.”
Klusener was appointed the side's head coach in 2019, a few weeks after serving a brief stint as a consultant for the South African T20 side that toured India that year.
“It has been fantastic,” he said about his time working with Afghanistan that included daily commutes from his hotel in a bullet proof car to training and then back to the hotel. “It's been a great experience for me, working with so many talented players. It's unfortunate what has happened, and it has created uncertainty, but hopefully once things settle a little bit, we can get some better direction.”
Klusener had been overseeing a training camp in the Afghan capital before all the chaos ensued. He and the players - none of whom have expressed feeling in any danger - were looking forward to the series with Pakistan.
“It's a massive rivalry, a bit like India and Pakistan have, and we felt like we were capable of causing an upset there. The boys were looking forward to it. There's been a few changes with the captain and we were going with a few youngsters ... we'll just have to see what happens moving forward.”
Klusener said he was still awaiting information from the Afghanistan Cricket Board on what the short term future holds for the national team, particularly in the build-up to the T20 World Cup that starts in the last week in October.
“We could look at having a good long camp in the UAE for a few weeks before the tournament,” he said. “But we'll have to wait on the Board and what happens from them. We are missing out on match time which is really frustrating.”
Afghanistan last played together against Zimbabwe in March and it seems they will go into the World Cup without playing any matches at all.
Klusener is grateful that some of his star players, including leg-spinner Rashid Khan, have been able to play some of the T20 leagues in the UK and the Caribbean.