Mohammad Kaif emerges as top contender for Afghanistan head coach position

Former Indian cricketer Mohammad Kaif might soon be roped in as the head coach of the Afghanistan national side. Kaif, who was a key member of the Indian team during the ICC World Cup 2003, has a lot of international cricket experience to his belt. As per the recent reports in Times of India, the former cricketer has been approached by the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB).

It was not very long ago when the Afghanistan board had announced that they will not be renewing the contract of their current head coach Lalchand Rajput. Reportedly, it was Rajput’s decision to not move to Afghanistan that caused the board to terminate his contract after the coaching tenure officially got over.

It is worth noting that yet another Indian legend would be serving Afghanistan cricket now, if Mohammad Kaif takes up the job. For the moment, he is the forerunner for the post. The reports suggested that Kaif is all set to meet the top officials of the Afghanistan Cricket Board later this week. The list of officials include chairman Shukrullah Atif Mashal and the CEO Shafiqullah Stanikzai.

Guiding force in domestic circuit

The 36-year old cricketer has been a guiding force in the Indian domestic circuit. Hence, the coaching role might not be a totally new thing for him. Kaif was a part of the Gujarat Lions roster during the Indian Premier League earlier this year. He worked in the capacity of the fielding coach of the Rajkot franchise in the competition.

Mohammad Kaif has played 13 Tests and 125 ODIs for India. In the previous season of the Raji Trophy, he was named as the captain cum mentor of the Chhattisgarh team. He will be serving in the same capacity this year as well. Meanwhile, the Afghanistan cricket has been on the rise in the recent times. They recently got the Test status granted from the International Cricket Council (ICC).