We showed our naivety, there’s plenty of work to be done: Richard Pybus

Afghanistan head coach Richard Pybus conceded that his side’s approach in the one-off Test against India was marked by considerable “naivety”, attributing the crushing defeat to a lack of exposure and game time at the highest level of the format. This was Afghanistan’s 12th Test in last eight years and the defeat by an innings and 300 runs against India was a humbling experience for the team.

Pybus, the journeyman English coach, spoke about the rustiness and how he intends to speak to the Afghanistan cricket’s top brass about where Test cricket stands in terms of commitment quotient.

“So, you know, there are some structural questions. I will have some feedback for the board when I go back. But also, it’s like, you know, what is our commitment to Test cricket?” a dejected Pybus said at the end of the match.

The lack of Test cricket will keep on hurting Afghanistan if there are such yawning gaps between two red ball games at the international cricket.

“Having coached a lot of first-class cricket, it’s a little bit like coming out of pre-season and then you’ve got to get into the rhythm of playing long-format cricket,” Pybus said. “So we were rusty, we showed our naivety and there’s plenty of work to be done,” he was as honest as possible in his admission. Then came the oft-repeated topic of lack of exposure and a comparison with the country’s white ball teams. 

“You can play as much red-ball cricket at home domestically and, you know, there aren’t that many first-class sides and it’s not a long fixture list.” Some of Afghanistan’s biggest white-ball stars, including Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmed, and Allah Ghazanfar, don’t play red-ball cricket and Pybus, without naming anyone, accepted that it is a problem.  “A lot of white-ball stars who are genuine stars in world cricket are not playing first-class cricket, and that sometimes would not help younger guys. Every side historically, as it evolves, needs fixtures to play,” Pybus said.