Afghanistan Cricket Board appoints Hamid Hassan as bowling coach

Hamid Hassan. (Photo Source: SAEED KHAN/AFP/Getty Images)

The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) have made a change to its coaching roster. They have announced their former fast bowler Hamid Hassan as their new bowling coach for their national men’s cricket team. Hassan will take up his role in the upcoming T20I series against Pakistan.

Widely considered one of the greatest players to ever represent Afghanistan, Hassan played 38 ODIs and 25 T20Is for the national team and picked up 59 and 35 wickets respectively. For many years, he spearheaded the bowling attack of Afghanistan and will now be doing his duty as their bowling coach.

“Afghanistan’s Fast Bowling Great @hamidhassanHH retired from International Cricket and has been named as AfghanAtalan’s New Bowling Coach,” Afghanistan Cricket Board posted on Twitter as they made the announcement.

After their most recent series against the UAE, Afghanistan will now take on Pakistan in a three-match T20I series which is scheduled to begin on March 25.

Honored and pleased to have the opportunity: Hassan

After the announcement of Hassan was named the bowling coach for Afghanistan, the veteran pacer came forward to talk about grasping the opportunity.

“Cricket has been my life over the past two-three decades and is in fact something that has been my passion for my whole life. It’s a difficult decision for me to retire from the game I love the most, but I’m doing this for the sake of my country and my team,” he said in a media release shared by ACB.

“At the same time, I’m honored and pleased to have the opportunity to take the role of the bowling coach of our National Team. I have enjoyed every bit of my playing career with this team, and the opportunity to work with our young bowling group is something I am looking forward to. I’ve been watching our fast bowling group closely and am excited to work with them to make this group as strong as or even stronger than our spinning department,” he added.