Richard Pybus appointed as head coach of Afghanistan’s national cricket team

The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) has appointed Richard Pybus as the new head coach of the Afghanistan national cricket team.

Pybus is set to join the AfghanAtalan squad ahead of their upcoming white-ball series against the Sri Lanka national cricket team in March.

A globally respected cricket leader and performance director, Pybus brings decades of international coaching experience.

He previously served as head coach, director of cricket and head of high performance for the West Indies cricket team from 2013 to 2019. During his tenure, he designed and implemented a high-performance structure that culminated in a historic treble in 2016, when the West

Indies men’s, women’s and U19 teams all claimed ICC World Cup titles in the same calendar year — a first in international cricket.

Pybus also coached the Pakistan national cricket team, guiding them to the final of the 1999 ICC Cricket World Cup, where they finished runners-up to Australia.

He later held a senior leadership role with the Bangladesh national cricket team in 2013.

At domestic level, Pybus has enjoyed notable success in South African cricket, leading teams to nine championship titles — a national record — and earning South African Cricket Coach of the Year honors twice.

He has also contributed to the development of several leading international players, including Pakistan’s Mohammad Rizwan, South Africa’s Faf du Plessis, and fast bowler Dale Steyn, widely regarded as one of the greatest bowlers in cricket history.

Beyond coaching, Pybus is recognized for his academic work in performance strategy.

In 2022, he earned a Doctorate in Professional Practice from Middlesex University in London for his research on the “Optimal Performance System,” a framework aimed at delivering consistent results across diverse high-performance environments.

He also holds a postgraduate degree from the University of Greenwich and a BA (Hons) degree from the University of Portsmouth.

Pybus is a Level Four CSA-certified coach and holds an executive coaching certificate from the NeuroLeadership Institute, in addition to being a certified performance coach and master-level NLP practitioner.

The Afghanistan Cricket Board welcomed Pybus to his new role and expressed confidence in his ability to lead the national side forward.