Reports : Mohammad Kaif in race to become Afghanistan cricket team's new coach

As per the report in the TOI, former Indian cricketer Mohammad Kaif has been approached for Afghanistan’s coaching position by Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB). This news came after almost a month when the board decided not to renew Rajput’s contract who replaced Pakistan’s Inzamam-ul-Haq in 2016. Mohammad Yousuf, Herschelle Gibbs, and Corey Collymore were in the race for the role but it appears that Kaif leads the race and will meet the senior officials of the Afghanistan Board later this week.

Kaif, who is leading Chhattisgarh in domestic cricket, played 13 Tests and 125 ODI’s for India in which he scored 624 and 2753 runs respectively. During his playing days for the Indian team, he was one of the few players who raised the bar of the Indian fielding. He also played for Rajasthan Royals, Kings XI Punjab and Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League. Last season, the 36-year-old was hired as the fielding coach of the Gujarat Lions in the IPL.

In the ICC ODI rankings, Afghanistan is currently in the 10th spot ahead of Zimbabwe and Ireland and were recently awarded Test status along with Irish team.