Hamid Hasan
Former Afghanistan cricket team fast bowler Hamid Hasan has been appointed as the new bowling coach of the national team.
According to cricket coverage website Cricinfo, Hamid Hasan will serve as the bowling coach for one year from the Pakistan-Afghanistan T20 series scheduled in Sharjah this month.
Hamid Hasan has been appointed to this post in place of former Pakistan fast bowler Umar Gul.
Umar Gul’s contract with the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) expired last year, but the board has only extended the contracts of head coach Jonathan Trott and fielding coach Ryan Mirren.
According to the press release of ACB, Hamid Hasan says that ‘Cricket has been my life for the last two to three decades, but it is something that has been my passion all my life.’
“It was a very difficult decision for me to retire from the sport I have loved the most, but I am doing it for my country and team.”
About his coaching career, he says, “I have been keeping a close eye on our group of fast bowlers and am excited to work with them to strengthen the group with our spin department as well.”
Hasan Hamid is counted among the Afghan players whose performance made the Afghan team appear on the map of the world cricket.
He played 38 ODIs and 25 T20 matches for Afghanistan, taking 59 and 35 wickets respectively.
The 35-year-old former fast bowler played his last international match in the 2021 ICCT20 World Cup against New Zealand in Abu Dhabi.
On the other hand, the series of three T20 matches between Pakistan and Afghanistan will start from March 25.
The Afghan team will host Pakistan at their home ground in Sharjah on March 25, 27 and 29.