Afghanistan head coach Richard Pybus has called on the ICC to provide emerging Test nations with a more structured schedule, arguing that teams cannot be expected to develop in red-ball cricket without regular opportunities to play. Speaking ahead of Afghanistan’s one-off Test against India, Pybus said the responsibility for ensuring the growth of newer Full Members lies with cricket’s governing body.
His comments come as Afghanistan continue to establish themselves in international cricket despite receiving limited exposure in the longest format compared to the game’s traditional powers.
“I think the onus is with the ICC,” Pybus told reporters during the pre-match press conference on Friday, June 5. “When a country gets granted full membership, it’s one thing to get full membership, but then you need to get a full fixture list. And it can’t be that the development historically of teams is just based on what exposure they get at World Cups.”
Afghanistan have made remarkable progress since gaining Full Member status in 2017, emerging as a competitive force in white-ball cricket and regularly challenging established nations. However, their opportunities in Test cricket have remained scarce, with the team often restricted to one-off matches or short bilateral assignments that provide little continuity for long-term development.
“I don’t think anybody could have conceived 20 years ago where Afghanistan would be now and quite how quick that development has been. When the series started to become two-Test series, to me it made absolutely no sense because you don’t want a series which is a tie. There needs to be a three- or five-Test series so that you can actually win the series.”
To paint a fairer image, Afghanistan have played only 12 Test matches so far in their history.
PYBUS URGES OTHER FULL MEMBERS TO SUPPORT AS WELL
Irrespective, Pybus praised the BCCI for providing Afghanistan with valuable fixtures, while urging other Full Members to follow suit and help expand the Test calendar for developing nations.
“Credit to the BCCI. They’ve given us plenty of cricket this year, which is fantastic for us to be able to develop,” he said. “I’d like to see going forward that the other senior full members also start to build out a list. Historically there are countries around the world whose development was very slow because quite honestly they just couldn’t get enough games.”
The Afghanistan coach argued that the sport should have moved beyond the challenges that restricted the growth of smaller cricketing nations in previous decades. According to Pybus, modern cricket must ensure all Full Members have access to meaningful bilateral schedules if the game is to continue expanding globally.
“We need to be in a situation now where there’s a proper fixture list,” he added.
Afghanistan’s upcoming one-off Test against India from Saturday, June 6, represents another opportunity for the side to showcase its progress, but Pybus believes lasting growth will depend less on isolated matches and more on consistent exposure against top opposition across multiple-match series.
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