Inzamam-ul-Haq takes over as Afghanistan head coach

Inzamam has been appointed the Afghanistan head coach

Inzamam-ul-Haq, the former Pakistani captain has been appointed the head coach of the Afghanistan national squad, reports ESPNcricinfo. Inzamam signed up only for Afghanistan’s upcoming tour of Zimbabwe, but Shafiq Stanikzai, the Afghanistan Cricket Board CEO, has said that Haq’s contract can be extended for up to two years.

"Inzamam's tenure is currently for the Zimbabwe tour and then we will be having a few meetings in Zimbabwe and after that we will be deciding, on mutual agreement, for the longer term," Stanikzai during a press conference after Inzamam was appointed as the coach.

Inzamam was previously the batting consultant for Pakistan team during the 2012/13 season. He was in the contention for the role of Pakistan's batting coach but never got the job full-time. The Pakistan Cricket Board looked to hire qualified coaches, candidates who at least had a Level 3 coaching accreditation and so they preferred Grant Flower as Pakistan’s batting coach, over Inzamam.

Afghanistan have not had a head coach since August after they decided not to renew Andy Moles' contract. Inzamam did not engage himself much in cricket after retiring in 2007 and kept to his religious and business activities. He also appeared on TV as an analyst on a few occasions.

Afghanistan to tour Zimbabwe in October

Zimbabwe will be hosting Afghanistan for a five ODI’s and two T20Is starting on October 16. It will be Afghanistan’s second tour in as many years. The tour last time around ended with a 2 -2 draw in the ODIs and 1-1 in the T20s.

The Zimbabwe Cricket chairman Tavengwa Mukuhlani said that it was important the Zimbabwe side play as much cricket as possible and is extremely happy that Zimbabwe is having such a busy season, "As we push through our commitment to have our national side play as many international games as possible, we are pleased to have Afghanistan touring, just a few days after we will have played host to Ireland in the latest of a busy season that has also seen India, New Zealand, and Pakistan in Zimbabwe."

He went on to add that Afghanistan as no pushovers and certainly gave Zimbabwe a run for their money the last time they toured and also hopes Zimbabwe win the series this time around, "The last time Afghanistan were here, they were no pushovers and we shared the spoils in the hard-fought series. This time around, we hope for a victory so that we repay the thousands of cricket lovers who always turn up at Queens in support of Zimbabwe."

Here’s a look at the schedule for the Afghanistan tour on Zimbabwe:

1st ODI - Oct 16

2nd ODI - Oct 18

3rd ODI - Oct 20

4th ODI - Oct 22

5th ODI - Oct 24

1st T20I - Oct 27

2nd T20I - Oct 29