Afghanistan National Cricket Team: Afghanistan have appointed Richard Pybus as their new head coach following the team’s group-stage exit at the ongoing ICC Men's T20 World Cup. The Englishman replaces Jonathan Trott, who led Afghanistan for four years. Pybus will take charge in March ahead of Afghanistan’s multi-format white-ball series against Sri Lanka in the United Arab Emirates. The series will begin with three Twenty20 Internationals in Sharjah from March 13, followed by a three-match One-Day International series in Dubai starting on March 20.
Who is Richard Pybus?
The 61-year-old previously worked with the West Indies from 2013 to 2019 as head coach, director of cricket and head of high performance. During that period, the West Indies achieved a rare treble in 2016, with the men’s, women’s and under-19 teams all winning ICC World Cup titles in the same calendar year.
Pybus also coached Pakistan and guided the team to the 1999 Cricket World Cup final, where it lost to Australia. He later held a senior leadership position with Bangladesh cricket in 2013.
At the domestic level in South Africa, teams under his guidance won nine championship titles — a national record. He was twice named South African Cricket Coach of the Year.
Beyond coaching, Pybus is recognized for his academic work in performance strategy. In 2022, he received a doctorate in professional practice from Middlesex University in London for research focused on what he calls the “Optimal Performance System,” a framework designed to produce consistent results in high-performance environments.
He also holds a postgraduate degree from the University of Greenwich and a bachelor of arts degree with honors from the University of Portsmouth. Pybus is a Level Four Cricket South Africa-certified coach and holds an executive coaching certificate from the NeuroLeadership Institute. He is also a certified performance coach and master-level NLP practitioner.
