Afghanistan's Board CEO Feels Need for Fitness Improvement, Reveals Plans for Next Test Match

Afghanistan made their debut in international Test cricket early this week. Hence, by this, they became the 12th official team ever to play the purest form of cricket.

However, the One-off Test against India didn’t live up to the billing, as hosts India were rampant on the new entrants. The match ended in just two days and Afghanistan were made to understand the level they need to reach to compete.

Although they made huge strides in becoming a young cricketing nation, Afghanistan just were not able to persist against the wrath of the top Test side in the world. One of the major concerns for the team will be to up the fitness levels.

To play a five-day Test game, the players will need to lot fitter than playing in ODIs and T20Is. Speaking on the matter, Afghanistan Cricket’s CEO, Shafiq Stanikzai expressed his disappointment over the fitness levels of his team.

But the official has revealed they will be bringing up measures to ensure the players will reach the desired levels.

India have been at the forefront of fitness regime in recent years. The BCCI have been critical on fitness and are not backing from sacking unfit players from the squad. It led to a severe rise of Indian cricket over the past 12 months.

“There won’t be any compromise on the fitness. I am a bit upset on the team’s fitness level, to be honest. It has not been up to the mark. It is good that I have spent these two days watching these boys from close.

“They were in India for the last two months, though Ramadan month came in between. But even then, that’s something we need to think and find a solution,” he said.

Although they played their first Test match, the journey had just begun for the Afghanistan Test team. They had studied quite a bit about the longest format of the game in Bengaluru. However, over time they can become a decent top quality side in Test cricket.

But for that, they will need to play more Test games against other sides which would be crucial in their learning curve. Speaking on when Afghanistan will play their next game, Shafiq Stanikzai revealed plans on touring Ireland next year.

“We have our plan set till 2019 World Cup. The team is touring Ireland in August, we are playing Asia Cup and then a domestic T20 league. The preparation for World Cup and our next Test (against Ireland in February, 2019) is also in place.

“The good thing is that we have a larger pool of players. We have specific red-ball players, who the coaching staff are focusing on. After this match, we need to rethink and be on the same page to come up with proper plan on what are the areas to be ticked.