Richard Pybus says Afghanistan’s progress in Test cricket will hinge most on a single factor: consistent chances to play. Afghanistan entered the longest format in June 2018 when they debuted against India in Bengaluru. Since then, they have featured in just 12 Test matches, with their latest outing scheduled for October 2025 versus Zimbabwe. Speaking ahead of his first assignment as Afghanistan head coach—an isolated Test against India—Pybus stressed that expanding the playing calendar is Afghanistan’s biggest hurdle as they try to establish themselves at the top level of the format.
“Our challenge in Test cricket, first and foremost, is getting fixtures,” Pybus said on the eve of the one-off match. “We’ve got one Test now. The key is to secure fixtures so we can keep evolving as a side.” The same concern dominated his opening pre-match press conference, as Pybus repeatedly pointed out that the burden of solving the problem does not sit solely with the team. “I believe the responsibility lies with the ICC,” he said. “When a nation receives full member status, that’s one step. But after that, you need a full fixture list. It also can’t be that teams’ growth over time is judged only by the exposure they receive through World Cups. Nobody could have imagined 20 years ago where Afghanistan cricket would be today, and how quickly it has developed.”
Pybus added that Afghanistan’s current momentum has been helped by significant opportunities, while calling for other senior Full Members to do more to widen access for emerging nations. “I give credit to the BCCI. They’ve provided us with plenty of cricket this year, which has been fantastic for our development,” he said. “Going forward, I’d like to see the other senior Full Members start building out the list as well. If you look back historically, the growth of the game in some countries was extremely slow because—honestly—they just couldn’t get enough matches. We have to move beyond that.”
Pybus, who took over after Jonathan Trott’s mostly successful spell with Afghanistan, said his early weeks in the job have been largely about learning the players and the structure that has helped Afghanistan become one of cricket’s fastest-rising teams. “This is actually my first assignment, and this is my first match in charge,” Pybus said. “I’ve visited Kabul a couple of times—meeting the administration, meeting the players. I’ve had a couple of weeks to watch the one-day competition. I’ve also been very impressed with the standard of first-class cricket.”
He explained that his assessment has involved comparing Afghanistan’s domestic first-class structure with other systems around the world. “I normally benchmark it against first-class cricket elsewhere and the depth and type of the setup, so that’s been encouraging. This match marks the start of this period. Really, it’s been about getting to know the players, understanding the players, and building relationships. Before this, it was mainly meeting them in Kabul,” Pybus said.
Pybus also moved quickly to recognize the groundwork laid by Trott. Under Trott, Afghanistan continued their rise in international cricket, and Pybus described the progression as remarkable. “You’ve all seen how much the Afghan side has developed. It’s been quite incredible over a short space of time,” he said. “I feel there are solid foundations already in place. I think Jonathan did an outstanding job across four years. It was good to go to Kabul, meet the coaches and administrators behind the scenes, and begin understanding how the team has developed and evolved.”
He added that his focus now is to extend the existing base and build from the progress already made. “We’ve seen from the white-ball teams just how exciting they are and the quality of the players,” Pybus said. “So we’ll continue to build on what is already there.”
One of the clearest impressions Pybus took from his time in Afghanistan was the level of enthusiasm for cricket in the country. A trip from Kabul to Jalalabad gave him an insight into an environment that has produced a new generation of international cricketers despite limited resources. “It’s the first time I’ve ever seen it,” Pybus said. “They don’t have cricket fields; they have cricket grounds. The ground is made of stone, the boundary is stone, and the pitch is essentially a concrete slab in the middle. So the kids are out there with the adults and they’re just playing.”
He said what stood out most was that the sport’s energy is undiminished by the lack of traditional facilities. “You can see the passion for the game, and it’s not reduced by the fact that there isn’t a blade of grass in sight,” Pybus said. “And over time, you’ve been able to see the standard of cricket that has come out of this. If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I don’t know if I would have believed it. But the passion is absolutely unbelievable.”
Pybus believes that as more children gain access to the sport, new stars will naturally emerge and try to replicate the achievements of those already at the top. “As the game develops and children get opportunities, new stars come through and they want to copy their heroes,” he said. “Afghanistan now has some serious world stars, not just national stars. That’s a really positive sign because those kids are going to dream.”
For the moment, Afghanistan’s immediate priority is the challenge of facing India, but Pybus returned to the broader issue of Test opportunities when discussing the team’s long-term outlook. “To play one Test and then have a four- or five-month gap before the next one, whatever you’re trying to learn, you need to concentrate that learning,” he said. “If you’re in a three-Test series, you can build on it—Test after Test after Test. If you’re playing five Tests, that’s even better. That’s the real challenge.”
He concluded by reiterating that the problem is not specific to Afghanistan alone. “That isn’t just an Afghanistan issue; it’s an ICC issue,” Pybus said.
