ICC World Cup 2019 | Phil Simmons decides not to renew his contract as Afghanistan coach post World Cup
After a glorious run with Afghanistan Cricket team, Phil Simmons has decided not to renew his contract and will step down as Afghanistan coach after the World Cup. The former Windies opener has said that the time is right for him to move on as the target he was given has been achieved.
Simmons was appointed to the position in December 2017 after ACB ended their contract with Lalchand Rajput was given a primary target of helping Afghanistan reach the ICC World Cup. However, Simmons has decided not to renew it further as he wants to move on to “something different” in his life. He is understood to have communicated his decision to the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) on Saturday.
ESPN Cricinfo reported that Simmons has communicated his decision to the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) on Saturday despite knowing that he was likely to get an extension given Afghanistan's results during his tenure, including their tournament win in the crucial World Cup Qualifier in March 2018.
"I have thought about it and I have actually given the ACB my notice that I will not be renewing my contract. I will move on to something different once my contract expires on July 15. I signed up originally for 18 months and I think I have done a lot in this period. It is time for me to move on to something else now,” Simmons was quoted as saying by Cricinfo.
“To want to get to the World Cup - that was ACB's goal at the time they appointed me. My goal is always to leave things better than when I joined: the way we practice, the way we think about the game, the way we assess other teams. I've tried to help the players in all those areas."
Although Simmons particularly didn’t mention the reason of his decision, it is expected that he was on board with the decision of removing Asghar Afghan as the skipper from all three formats and the appointment of Gulbadin Naib as the ODI captain just ahead of the World Cup. The ACB also appointed Rahmat Shah and Rashid Khan as the Test and T20I teams respectively, which was massively criticised by Rashid and Mohammed Nabi on Twitter.
"No, I was not aware of it. I was not given any reasons. It was the decision of the Afghanistan Cricket Board and the selectors. How can I take it? I can't change it. So I have to just get on with what I have to do and make sure the squad is preparing in the same way I wanted them to prepare barring the change."
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