Onus on ICC: Afghanistan coach seeks more Tests to grow red-ball cricket in country

Afghanistan head coach Richard Pybus has called on the ICC to provide the emerging Test nations with a more structured programme, arguing that teams cannot be expected to develop in red-ball cricket without regular opportunities to play. Ahead of Afghanistan’s one-off Test against India, Pybus said the onus was on cricket’s governing body to ensure the growth of new full members.

His comments come as Afghanistan continue to establish themselves in international cricket, despite being limited in the longest format compared to the traditional powers.

“I think the onus is on the ICC,” Pybus told reporters during the pre-match press conference on Friday, June 5. “When a country gets full membership, it’s one thing to get full membership, but then you have to get a full fixture list. And it can’t be that the historical development of teams is only based on what exposure they get at the World Cup.”

Afghanistan have made remarkable progress since gaining full member status in 2017, becoming a competitive force in white-ball cricket and regularly challenging established nations. However, their opportunities in Test cricket have remained rare, with the team often limited to one-off matches or short bilateral assignments that provide little continuity for long-term development.

“I don’t think anyone 20 years ago could have imagined where Afghanistan would be now and how fast that development has been. When the series started becoming two-Test series, it made absolutely no sense to me because you don’t want a series that is tied. To really win a series, there has to be a three- or five-Test series.”

To paint a fairer picture, Afghanistan have played only 12 Test matches in their history so far. Afghanistan’s new head coach Richard Pybus at a pre-match press conference (PTI Photo)

PYBUS ALSO INVITES OTHER REGULAR MEMBERS TO SUPPORT

Regardless, Pybus praised the BCCI for providing Afghanistan with a valuable fixture and urged other full members to follow suit and help expand the Test calendar for developing nations.

“Credit to the BCCI. They have given us a lot of cricket this year which is fantastic for us to develop,” he said. “Going forward, I’d like to see the other senior full members start to build a roster as well. Historically, there are countries around the world that have been very slow to develop because, frankly, they couldn’t have enough games.”

The Afghanistan coach argued that the sport needed to move beyond the problems that had limited the growth of smaller cricketing nations in previous decades. According to Pybus, modern cricket must ensure all full members have access to meaningful bilateral schedules if the game is to continue to expand globally.

“We need to be in a situation now where there is a proper fixture list,” he added.

Afghanistan’s upcoming one-off Test against India on Saturday June 6 presents another opportunity for the side to showcase its progress, but Pybus believes sustained growth will depend less on isolated matches and more on consistent exposure to top opposition in multi-match series.

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Published on:

05 Jun 2026 15:02 IST