'Rusty' Afghanistan need more Tests, says coach Pybus

Coach Richard Pybus said Afghanistan’s Test team were “rusty” in their heavy defeat to India on Monday and needed more Test fixtures to help them improve.

Afghanistan have played only 13 matches since gaining Test status almost nine years ago, winning four, losing eight and one draw.

Monday’s defeat by an innings and 300 runs inside three days in New Chandigarh was their second against India.

“We were rusty, we showed our naivety, and there’s plenty of work to be done,” Pybus told reporters.

“I think… in the same way that the white ball side has developed, you only develop through fixtures.”

Afghanistan had a bruising introduction to Test cricket in 2018 when India hammered them by an innings and 262 runs inside two days in Bengaluru.

England-born Pybus replaced Jonathan Trott as coach early this year and the one-off Test in India was his first assignment in the longer format.

“I was with Pakistan when we played Bangladesh … the game was over in two-and-a-half days and that was part of Bangladesh’s learning curve,” Pybus said.

“Now we see that Bangladesh are beating Pakistan. That’s the evolution of the game. Fixtures need to be built out.”

Afghanistan were outclassed by third-ranked India, who posted an imposing 564-8 declared after electing to bat first.

India then bundled Afghanistan out for 152 and 112 to wrap up the game just over 30 minutes into Monday’s third session.

Pybus congratulated India.

“They played really good, solid Test cricket and, as an all-format team, India is the powerhouse in world cricket now,” he said.

“They’ve given us a very clear indication… showing us exactly where we are in terms of our skills, game strategy and ability to be able to execute,” he said.

“We’ve got a lot to work on.”