Former India seam bowler Venkatesh Prasad lauded the Afghan talent on show at the Afghanistan Premier League.

Prasad is the coach of the Nangarhar Leopards side that bowed out of the APL T20 tournament in Sharjah after a heavy defeat in the semi-final against Balkh Legends.

Chasing 236 for an unlikely victory, the Leopards were shot out for just 64 with veteran Afghan star Mohammad Nabi taking 4-12 in the first semi-final.

However, coach Prasad was pleased with the overall effort and praised Afghanistan’s talented pool of players.

“We could have won a couple of more matches in the league phase. That’s how it goes. I think the team gelled well,” Prasad said after the 171-run defeat.

Prasad was particularly impressed by the fast bowling talent in Afghanistan.

“Naveen (ul-Haq) is one bowler who improved from game to game. I knew there was a lot of talent and they’ve shown it here. The other good thing is, most fast bowlers here can bowl very good yorkers which I’ve not seen from many other bowlers outside Afghanistan. If they continue playing in this format with the other overseas players, they will take their game to the next level.”

Prasad was also upbeat about Afghanistan’s recent growth in international cricket. “We saw them play in the Asia Cup. They beat Sri Lanka, almost beat India. That shows that there is talent, hunger to perform. That shows that they are willing to take the game to the next level. This platform, which has been provided by the Afghanistan Cricket Board, will really help them. I would probably give them three to five years, where they start beating good teams,” he said.