Karachi: Former Pakistan captain Inzamam ul Haq today said he had extended his coaching contract with the Afghanistan cricket team for a year.
“They offered me the option of a two-year and three-year contract and initially I was considering the two-year contracts but due to family commitments I have for now signed a one-year contract with them,” Inzamam told PTI from Lahore.
Inzamam, who appeared in 120 Tests and 388 One-day internationals, had last month taken up a temporary coaching assignment with the Afghanistan team for their tour of Zimbabwe where they emerged winners by 3-2 in ODIs and won two T20 matches as well.
“I am always available for any coaching assignment for Pakistan cricket but I saw the offer from the Afghanistan cricket board as a challenging one and have accepted it.
“I enjoyed the challenge of coaching the Afghanistan players as they have a lot of passion and talent in them,” he said.
Afghanistan played as a qualifier in the 2015 World Cup and will play their fourth World Twenty20 in India next year.
Inzamam said he would focus on improving the Afghanistan team’s mental strength and cricket acumen during off-season.
“That would be a real challenge trying to make them sharper cricketers and better readers of the game and to fine tune their skills,” he said.
Inzamam is also due to leave for Kabul tonight for a short tour to attend a T20 match and visit their academy. Inzamam is the third Pakistani to coach Afghanistan after Kabir Khan had two stints and Rashid Latif one.