R Sridhar has been appointed as Afghanistan’s assistant coach for the upcoming one-off Test vs New Zealand and three-match ODI series against South Africa. Having served as India’s fielding coach in the past, R Sridhar has been appointed as assistant coach of the Afghanistan senior men’s team. R Sridhar will be part of the setup for the upcoming one-off Test match vs New Zealand and also a three-match ODI series against South Africa. His contract will be made long-term, depending on his performance.
R Sridhar brings a wealth of experience to his new role, having Team India as their fielding coach for over seven years between August 2014 and November 2021. He was at the helm in over 300 international matches and contributed to India’s 2015 and 2019 ICC ODI World Cup campaigns. He was also part of India’s contingent in the 2016 and 2021 T20 World Cups.
R Sridhar’s profile in cricketing journey
The 54-year-old R Sridhar is a level-3 certified coach, who is also a former India U-19 national team assistant coach, and spin bowling coach too. From 2008-14, Sridhar was also an assistant fielding and spin bowling coach in India’s National Cricket Academy.
A former player, Sridhar represented Hyderabad in domestic cricket from 1989/90-2000/01, before taking up a coaching role in cricket in 2001. He played 35 first-class matches and 15 List A matches for Hyderabad, registering 574 and 69 runs respectively. He also took 91 first-class wickets and 14 List A dismissals.
He was the assistant coach of the India U-19 team at the 2014 U-19 World Cup in UAE. He was named as fielding coach of the senior Indian team in August 2014, and saw his contract extended. In 2021 when Rahul Dravid took over as head coach, Sridhar was replaced by T Dilip. He has also served as fielding coach for Kings XI Punjab, and head coach for the Andhra cricket team and Tripura Cricket Association. Last year, he also coached California Knights to a third-position finish in the US Masters T10 competition.
In addition to his international coaching experience, Sridhar has also worked with Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Punjab Kings as their spin-bowling coach between 2014 to 2017. R Sridhar is a Level-3 certified coach who has previously served the Indian Under-19 national team as an assistant and spin-bowling coach. Between 2008 and 2014, he was part of India’s National Cricket Academy (NCA) as an assistant fielding and spin-bowling coach. R Sridhar was part of Ravi Shastri’s coaching setup.
With series versus New Zealand and South Africa, the Afghanistan Cricket Board decided to appoint R Shridhar as Assistant Coach.
Afghanistan name R Sridhar as assistant coach for upcoming New Zealand and South Africa series in 2024
The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) has announced former Team India fielding coach R Sridhar as their assistant coach for the upcoming series against New Zealand and South Africa. Afghanistan will play New Zealand in a one-off Test in Greater Noida, starting September 9. Following the red-ball game, the Afghans will take on South Africa in a three-match T20I series in Sharjah from September 18 to 22.
R Sridhar was India’s fielding coach from 2014 to 2021, including two ODI and T20 World Cups. He was also part of the Punjab Kings (PBKS) coaching staff from 2014 to 2017, including their lone final appearance in 2014. R Sridhar is a Level-3 certified coach with coaching experience with Hyderabad Under-19 and Under-16 teams. He was part of the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru in 2011 and was subsequently appointed the fielding coach of the India Under-19 team the same year.
R Sridhar was also a former Indian domestic cricketer through the 1990s, playing 35 first-class and 15 List-A games. With his left-arm spin-bowling, he picked up 105 wickets in domestic cricket with two 5-wicket hauls. The Karnataka-born cricketer was also a useful batter, evidenced by his first-class and List-A averages of 16.40 and 17.25, respectively.
R Sridhar was replaced by T Dilip as India’s fielding coach in 2021 once Rahul Dravid took over as head coach. The 54-year-old also coached the California Knights to a third place finish in the US Masters T10 League last year.
Afghanistan will play their first-ever Test against New Zealand
Afghanistan’s one-off Test against New Zealand will be their first in the format against the Kiwi outfit. The Afghans have thus far played nine Tests in their history, winning three and losing six. They have lost their last three red-ball outings to Ireland, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Afghanistan defeated New Zealand in the recent T20 World Cup in the West Indies and USA. The result played a massive role in the Black Caps’ exit from the tournament before the Super Eights.
Meanwhile, Afghanistan made history by advancing to their first-ever ICC event semi-final before suffering a crushing defeat to South Africa. They will look to avenge that loss in the three-match T20I series against the Proteas that follows the one-off Test against New Zealand.