World Cup 2019: Afghanistan coach Phil Simmons threatens to spill the beans about Asghar Afghan's removal as captain

Afghanistan have had a tough time at the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup with the team losing all of their five matches so far. Things don't seem to be getting better as the team's head coach Phil Simmons has threatened to spill the beans about Afghanistan's former chief selector Dawlat Ahmadzai at the end of the World Cup.

Initially, a senior Afghan journalist had posted a tweet mentioning that Ahmadzai had accused Phil Simmons and his coaching staff of lack of preparation ahead of the World Cup.

Dawlat Ahmadzai former fast bowler & chief selector of @ACBofficials believes that,it is all the fault of the coaching staff led by @Coachsim13 that they couldn't prepare Afghanistan team for @cricketworldcup.#CWC19 #AfghanAtalan #AFGvENG pic.twitter.com/ltEuPoUiz7
— M.ibrahim Momand (@IbrahimReporter) June 18, 2019

Phil Simmons replied to the above-mentioned tweet that he needed to focus on the team and the World Cup for now. However, he also said that he will reveal Ahmadzai's part in the team's preparation for the World Cup and also his part in removing Asghar Afghan as captain two months before the World Cup.

In addition to this, prior to the World Cup commencing, Simmons announced that he won't be renewing his contract as head coach.

I am in the middle of a World Cup and trying to get our team to perform to the level we expect but at the end of the World Cup I will tell the Afghanistan people about the part that Mr Dawlat Ahmadzai had to play in our preparation and his part in the dismissal of #AsgharAfghan https://t.co/TLhIbzqTU4
— Phil Simmons (@Coachsim13) June 19, 2019

It is to be noted that Asghar Afghan, who lead the Afghanistan national team since the 2015 World Cup was sacked on April 5 and he was replaced by all-rounder Gulbadin Naib. It was a strange decision considering that Afghanistan had improved rapidly under his leadership.

The decision was even criticised by key players like Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi while even coach Simmons had revealed that he had no idea regarding the captaincy change. Afghan lead Afghanistan on 56 occasions and won 31 of them. His win percentage in that period was 59.43, a commendable effort by all measures.

This controversy comes on the back of wicket-keeper Mohammad Shahzad alleging that he was sent back from the World Cup in spite of being fully-fit. Shahzad was replaced due to a knee injury and Ikram AliKhil was named as his replacement.

On June 11, Dawlat Ahmadzai was moved to the position of the chief selector for Afghanistan's age-group sides. Former Afghanistan national team head coach Andy Moles replaced Ahmadzai as the chief selector for the senior team. Such changes during the World Cup gives rise to more to doubts about the turmoil in Afghanistan cricket.

Yet, one cannot be too sure about the exact dynamics behind the management's decisions and will only need to wait until the culmination of the World Cup to understand the underlying factors surrounding Afghanistan cricket.

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