Richard Pybus appointed as head coach of Afghanistan's national cricket team

The Afghanistan Cricket Board has announced the appointment of 61-year-old British coach Richard Pybus as the new head coach of the country's national cricket team. Pybus is scheduled to join the team in March 2026 ahead of a series against Sri Lanka.

According to the Cricket Board, Pybus is a recognized international coach with extensive experience. From 2013 to 2019, he served as head coach, cricket director, and high-performance head for West Indies, where he established a structure that led to the team winning the men's, women's, and Under-19 ICC World Cup titles in 2016 -- a historic triple in a single calendar year.

Pybus previously coached Pakistan's national team to the 1999 World Cup final, where they finished as runners-up to Australia. In 2013, he held a senior leadership role with Bangladesh. In South African domestic and franchise cricket, he secured nine championship titles and was named Coach of the Year twice.

He has worked with prominent players including Pakistan's Mohammad Rizwan, South Africa's Faf du Plessis, and fast bowler Dale Steyn. Academically, Pybus received an honorary professional doctorate from Middlesex University London in 2022 for his research on high-performance systems. He holds a master's from the University of Greenwich, a bachelor's with honors from the University of Portsmouth, a Level 4 coaching qualification from Cricket South Africa, and certifications in executive coaching and NLP.

The Cricket Board welcomed Pybus's appointment and expressed optimism about the team's performance in upcoming competitions, particularly against Sri Lanka.