Afghanistan Cricket Board on Wednesday (August 18) appointed former Sri Lankan batsman Avishka Gunawardene as the team's batting coach for the upcoming ODI series against Pakistan, scheduled in Sri Lanka from September 1-5. Gunawardene replaces former South African batsman Hylton Deon Ackerman in the role. . Afghanistan is set to play 3 ODIs against Pakistan in Sri Lanka next month. Earlier, the Afghanistan cricket board had named former Australian fast bowler Shaun Tait as their new bowling coach. Avishka Gunawardene represented Sri Lanka’s national side from 1998 to 2006. He only played 6 Test matches in his career but played a lot more than 61 ODIs.
The former left-handed batsman mustered 1708 runs in ODIs, along with 1 century and 12 half-centuries. He was an explosive left-handed batsman during his active career. Gunawardene has served as the Sri Lanka national men's team's batting coach and has also coached the Sri Lanka A and Emerging teams while this will be his first major assignment since being cleared of corruption charges relating to alleged breaches of the Emirates Cricket Board's anti-corruption code during the T10 tournament in the UAE in 2017.Meanwhile, doubts over Afghanistan’s entry into ICC T20 World Cup 2021 rose after Taliban fighters took over the country. However, Afghanistan cricket board media manager Hikmat Hassan stated that the nation will participate in the tournament. He had also asserted that Taliban rulers have extended their support to cricket in the country.
