Dubai: UAE coach Kabir Khan will be returning to coach the Afghanistan national team according to the Afghanistan Cricket Board website.
Though it is still not clear when the 37-year-old will officially take over as coach, the website ran a headline saying "Welcome Back, Kabir!" and only gave details of his previous coaching stint.
The move comes as a huge surprise as Khan had joined the UAE only a year back. He had replaced former England international Colin Wells and had done an impressive job with the team.
Under his guidance, the UAE won the Pepsi ICC World Division II to qualify for the ICC Intercontinental Cup.
The team also came up with brilliant performances against Kenya, scoring an outright victory, and taking the crucial first innings points against Afghanistan in the Intercontinental Cup matches.
But, recently, the UAE made a surprise exit at the ACC Twenty20 Cup, the World Twenty20 qualifiers, in Nepal after finishing a disappointing fifth in the tournament.
This is the second time Khan will be taking over as the coach of Afghanistan. The former Pakistan left-arm bowler from Peshawar played 10 ODIs and four Tests and is an accredited Level 3 coach.
Afghanistan reached great heights during his tenure when he led the national team to victories and raised their international status. He coached Afghanistan from October 2008 until July 2010.
Successful stint
During his 22-month stint, he guided Afghanistan from the 2008 ICC World Cricket League Division Five, through Division Four and Division Three to One-Day International status during the 2009 ICC World Cup Qualifier.
When he left the coaching position in 2010, Afghanistan were top of the Intercontinental Cup and ranked 13th in the world in one-day cricket.
Afghanistan, who recently won the ACC Twenty20 Cup, have a very crucial assignment ahead as they prepare for the Twenty20 World Cup qualifiers in March in the UAE. Prior to that they also play their first ODI against a full member of the ICC, the Pakistan team, in the UAE on February 10.
