Come June, Afghanistan will be playing their first-ever Test in history when they take on India at Bengaluru. Having being awarded full ICC membership along with Ireland last year, Afghanistan will open their Test era against the top-ranked side in world cricket in their own den.
However, there have been doubts about the availability of Virat Kohli for the historic Test, with the India skipper expected to play in the County Championship after the IPL has ended.
While the BCCI and CoA (Committee of Administrators) remain locked in a tussle about Kohli’s participation, Afghanistan head coach Phil Simmons is just thinking about creating history.
Speaking to the Hindustan Times on the sidelines of the launch of the Afghan Premier League, the former West Indies man said that a win against India would be an immense feat regardless.
“If India play Afghanistan and Afghanistan win the Test, nobody will say Kohli wasn’t there, Cheteshwar Pujara wasn’t there or Ajinkya Rahane wasn’t there. It’s India’s choice what they do with their players,” Simmons was quoted as saying.
“If we win, we have beaten India. We will take that,” he added.
Simmons has no problem with whichever line-up India turn out.
While history awaits Afghanistan, the country’s board has now announced the launch of the five-team Afghan Premier League which will be held in the UAE in October this year.
Praising the board for the initiative, Simmons hopes that big international stars will grace the inaugural T20 league.
“It’s a huge step. It shows they are looking forward to be a big player in cricketing world. To take an initiative like this shows they have an ambition, they want better teams for their players,” the Afghanistan coach stated.
“We know Indian players might not be available, which is understandable. It would be nice to see some big T20 names like Chris Gayle, David Miller participate.”