Afghan coach sues expensive DRS mistakes vs. India: We were exceptionally rusty

Afghanistan head coach Richard Pybus admitted his side’s inability to make the right DRS calls hurt them badly against India and said there was a clear lack of conviction in the decision-making processes during key moments of the Test.

Afghanistan let several opportunities slip as the Indian batsmen took advantage from the visitors’ hesitance to review decisions on the field. KL Rahul survived a lead on the opening day when wicketkeeper Afsar Zazai opted not to appeal, while Rishabh Pant enjoyed a similar reprieve on Day 2 despite appearing to bowl the ball past the keeper.

The costliest loss came when Indian skipper Shubman Gill was hit from the front by Azmat Omarzai. Records later indicated that the ball should have hit the stumps, but Afghanistan decided there would be no review.

With these moments in mind, Pybus acknowledged that the Afghanistan review process lacked clarity and ultimately came at a significant cost.

IND vs AFG Highlights: One-off Test Day 2

“We were exceptionally rusty. It wasn’t clear without throwing somebody under the bus, I think there was a lack of conviction in the decision-making and at the end of the day the captain has a very short time to make those decisions and he relies on that feedback. Then we talked about it because we were obviously off the pace with it and it cost us the whole day.”

According to the Afghanistan coach, the captain can only act on the information provided by those closest to him, so communication within the unit is critical.

“I think the captain is absolutely dependent and he’s got a couple of guys he talks to for the decision-making process. He’s got a keeper to give him his adjustment, he’s got a marker to give him height and he’s dependent on the bowler and what he sees in front of him,” he said.

Although Pybus was disappointed with his team’s handling of the reviews, he was reluctant to criticize the referee. He pointed out that match officials are subject to extensive scrutiny and receive detailed feedback on every decision.

“As far as the umpire is concerned, I know from my experience as a director of cricket how strict the scrutiny of the umpire is and how the ICC reviews the decision-making process.

“There is no wiggle room for the referee. When they make a mistake, every single decision is reviewed. The referee gets feedback on that. I have absolutely no doubt that the referee is doing the best he can.”

Afghanistan’s missed reviews proved particularly costly against a strong Indian batting line-up, with Pybus admitting his side’s indecisiveness at key moments allowed the match to get away from them.

– The end

Issued by:

Saurabh Kumar

Published on:

07 Jun 2026 20:56 IST