Phil Simmons, Afghanistan coach, and former West Indies cricketer believes that the current state of the national team is really depressing for the entire country, and the long-standing struggle will continue until “somebody decides to do the right things where cricket is concerned”.
Simmons’ comment came after West Indies’ who has been badly struggling to find its roots over the years, crushing whitewash in the Test series by Bangladesh, saying it was depressing.
On Thursday (December 13), Simmons told PTI, “I can imagine how depressing it must be for the Clive Lloyds, Viv Richards’ and Sir Gary Sobers of this world. It is depressing for all of us. Until somebody decides to do the right things where cricket is concerned, it is going to stay like that for a while.”
Meanwhile, he lauded Virat Kohli and Team India’s victory over Australia in Adelaide, saying: “Brilliant performance by India in Adelaide. They have put down a marker saying that we are here to win the series. I think Pujara was exceptional in that first innings and he kept India in the match.”
While praising Indian bowling attack, Afghan coach said, “India has good fast bowlers too, it is not just Ashwin and Kuldeep. Bumrah, Shami, Ishant, Umesh Yadav can bowl well on bouncy wickets too and it is something that Australia should be wary of at Perth.”
The former Caribbean batsman also picked England as favorites for the 2019 World Cup, saying the way they are playing is outstanding that makes them a favorite contender for the title especially with additional home advantage. Former Windies coach further added on the same, “England will be high up there. It will be because of the way they are playing and also the conditions. Given their form and the make-up of their team, you have to say England.”
On being asked about Afghanistan’s preparations for the upcoming showpiece event in England next year, Simmons said that it had started with the camp in Chennai.
Simmons signed off by saying, “Preparations for the World Cup have just started and it has started well. The series against Ireland in February and March will give us a better idea as to where we stand. We still have a lot of work to do in the next three months so when May comes, we can be as sharp as we can hope to be. We have started well. Hopefully, everything will get better as we move along.”
(With Press Trust of India Inputs)
