'Afghanistan in a good place' - Pybus after tri-series triumph
The Afghanistan head coach lauded the team's growing depth, while stressing on the need to develop a side for all conditions
Afghanistan head coach Richard Pybus expressed his delight over his players handling their responsibilities and said that they were evolving as a team following their tri-series triumph in the final over Zimbabwe in Sharjah. Afghanistan enjoyed a spotless run in the tournament, beating Zimbabwe by 158 runs and Bangladesh by seven wickets in the group stage, before coasting home in the final against Zimbabwe by seven wickets again.
Pybus acknowledged that it was a “happy dressing room” after Afghanistan won three matches in five days, coping with the heat and humidity while doing so. He also stressed on developing a side that could adapt and perform across conditions.
“I just think the side's in a good place. We came off the back of a positive series in Ireland. We're looking to build a side which can adapt to different conditions. We need to develop a side which can perform in any conditions around the world. And I think we're starting to get some depth in the squad and guys turning up and putting the performances in,” Pybus said after the final.
“When we sit and plan as a team for guys to take responsibility for their position in the team, I think we saw it in Ireland and we've seen it again in this series where guys are really getting stuck into their work. They're not handling responsibility for other players to come in and pick up the pieces where they have not executed on what they need to do in their role. So that's really pleasing,” he said.
Pybus heaped further praise on how the players turned up and put their best foot forward in the tri-series, even as there is a desire for increased opportunities against the world’s best sides.
“We don't get the quality of opportunity with regards to some of the other full-member sides in terms of being able to play the top sides consistently, which I think is really critical for our development as a side…We know that Bangladesh are a very dangerous side and Zimbabwe turned over Bangladesh and put in a really comprehensive performance, so I don't want to take anything away from our guys,” he said.
Pybus was also impressed by Rahmat Shah encouraging his players to chip in with their inputs to go with his own “quiet authority” as a leader.
“He's been wonderful as captain. He's a very calm, assured player. He leads with quiet authority. He listens to the players, his senior players. He's very inclusive and so he's got a happy team and he encourages participation from throughout the side whether we're doing planning, preparation or out on the field in terms of performance,” Pybus said, while also lauding Rahmat’s form with the bat.
“I think what is equally important as a captain is turning up and actually carrying that responsibility with the bat and he's been exceptional,” he added. “We saw it in Ireland, we saw it during the Test match where he was phenomenal His performance during the Test match [prior to the tri-series] didn't get the credit that it should have done because of batting in the fourth innings and Sediqullah’s [Sediqullah Atal] performance and the overall performance of the side, but he was outstanding with his century and his fifty.”
Rahmat is yet to lose an ODI game as captain having taken over from Hashmatullah Shahidi, with Afghanistan winning seven matches in a row in the format.
“Seven wins on the trot. It’s not always going to be as sweet as that but you know he's made a really great start and I've got absolutely no doubt he'll continue to lead the team in a very positive and inspiring way,” Pybus said.
