AFG appointed Gunawardene as batting coach for Pakistan

Sri Lankan opener Avishka Gunawardene has been appointed as the Afghanistan batting coach for the AFG men’s team for the upcoming ODIs against Pakistan.

The Cricket Board of Afghanistan has announced this through Twitter on August 17, 2021.

The Cricket Board of Afghanistan has announced this through Twitter on August 17. ESPNcricinfo understands that ACB wanted Avishka Gunawardene for a longer stint, but Gunawardene has only supported his participation in the ODI series – which is yet to be played in Sri Lanka. Avishka Gunawardene has been appointed as the batting coach of the Afghanistan national team.

This will be Gunawardene’s first major act since being cleared of misconduct charges related to statement breaches of the Emirates Cricket Board’s Anti-Corruption Code at the time of the T10 tournament in the United Arab Emirates in 2017.

An independent tribunal allowed Gunawardene in May after an inquiry, which led to his release. Free to resume coaching career. Gunawardene has served as the batting coach of the Sri Lanka national men’s team and has also coached the Sri Lanka A and promising teams.

Gunawardene dismissed by independent tribunal on charges

The appointment comes at a time of major change in AFG, with the Taliban taking back political reins following the withdrawal of US troops from the country. How cricket is affected by these events ACB CEO Hamid Shinwari has been said to be adamant that he is confident the game will go on as before.

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Afghanistan may fly to Sri Lanka for the series

“We will resume our office from tomorrow and the ongoing national camp ahead of the Pakistan series in Sri Lanka will also resume after a two-day break with regime change,” Hamid Shinwari told PTI on Monday.

It is not yet clear whether the AFG side can fly to SL for the series as Kabul airport remains closed following the Taliban takeover of the city. Hopefully, the team can fly in the next two weeks.
All three ODIs against Pakistan will be played in Hambantota.