Afghanistan have announced that Umar Gul is the new bowling coach of the national men’s cricket team. The former Pakistan international will begin his new role during the white-ball tour of Zimbabwe in June, when Afghanistan will play three ODIs followed by a further trio of T20Is in Harare. Gul’s appointment comes after a successful stint as a bowling consultant at an Afghanistan’s training camp in April. The 39-year-old made 237 international appearances for Pakistan across formats, making a particularly notable impact in the white-ball game, taking 179 wickets in 130 ODI matches and bagging 85 in 60 T20Is with a miserly career economy of 7.19.

Gul was the top wicket taker at the ICC T20 Cricket World Cups in both 2007 and 2009, and is seventh in the all-time list for wicket-takers in T20 Internationals. Of the six players above him, only Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan can better Gul’s average of 16.97 or strike rate of 14.1. Gul’s first job will be to steer Afghanistan’s bowlers through a three-match ICC Cricket World Cup Super League series against Zimbabwe as they push towards automatic qualification for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023.

Afghanistan are fifth in the Super League Standings having won seven of their nine matches to-date, while opponents Zimbabwe are above only Netherlands at the foot of the table. A three-match T20I series follows the 50-over matches, with Afghanistan continuing their preparation towards the ICC T20 World Cup later this year, for which they are one of eight teams already confirmed in the Super 12.

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Ex-Pakistan Pacer Umar Gul Appointed Afghanistan’s Bowling Coach

Umar Gul, the former Pakistan quick, has been named the new bowling coach of the Afghanistan national team. The initial contract is till the end of the year. He will start with Afghanistan’s upcoming limited-overs tour of Zimbabwe in June.Gul, who replaced Abdur Razzaq as the bowling coach of Quetta Gladiators in the PSL last year to kickstart his post-playing career, was employed by the Afghanistan Cricket Board as its bowling consultant during a training and preparation camp in the UAE in April. At the camp, former Pakistan captain Younis Khan was roped in as batting consultant.

Gul “worked with the fast bowlers in our national line-up and considering his effectiveness in the camp as well as based on the need, it was decided to offer him a permanent contract as the national team’s bowling coach,” the board said in a statement. Gul, now 39, retired from all forms of cricket in October 2020 after turning out 47 Tests (163 wickets at 34.06), 130 ODIs (179 wickets at 29.34) and 60 T20Is (85 wickets at 16.97) for Pakistan between 2003 and 2016. Gul was roped in by the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) as its bowling consultant during the side’s training and preparation camp in Abu Dhabi in April.

“The Pakistani veteran worked with the fast bowlers in our national line-up and considering his effectiveness in the camp as well as based on the need, it was decided to offer him a permanent contract as the national team’s bowling coach,” said the ACB in an official statement. Gul, 39, retired from all forms of cricket in October 2020 after playing for Balochistan in the National T20 Cup. In his career for Pakistan from 2003-2016, Gul played in 47 Tests, picking 163 wickets at an average of 34.06.

He also played in 130 ODIs, taking 179 wickets at an average of 29.34, and featured in 60 T20Is, earning 85 wickets at an average of 16.97. He was a member of the Pakistan team winning the 2009 Men’s T20 World Cup in England apart from being the leading wicket-taker in Pakistan’s run as runners-up, picking 13 scalps at an average of 11.92 and economy rate of 5.60. His former Pakistan teammate Younis Khan had joined in as batting consultant for the camp. The Afghanistan team left for Zimbabwe on Wednesday afternoon for a series of three ODIs, part of the World Cup Super League, and three T20Is, all of which will be played between June 4 and 14 in Harare.