Afghanistan head coach Richard Pybus admitted that his team’s approach in the one-off Test against India showed signs of “naivety”, saying the lack of exposure to red-ball cricket played a major role in their innings-and-300-run defeat in New Chandigarh.The match was Afghanistan’s 12th Test in eight years, and Pybus said the team needed to reflect on its commitment to the longest format of the game. “So, you know, there are some structural questions. I will have some feedback for the board when I go back. But also, it’s like, you know, what is our commitment to Test cricket?,” Pybus said after the match.The coach said long gaps between Test matches make it difficult for players to adapt to the demands of red-ball cricket.“Having coached a lot of first-class cricket, it’s a little bit like coming out of pre-season and then you’ve got to get into the rhythm of playing long-format cricket,” Pybus said.“So we were rusty, we showed our naivety and there’s plenty of work to be done,” he added.ALSO READ: Chosen one Manav Suthar gives India hope with dip, revs and perfect ‘tappa’Pybus also pointed to the limited amount of first-class cricket available to Afghanistan’s players and said domestic matches alone were not enough preparation for international Test cricket.“You can play as much red-ball cricket at home domestically and, you know, there aren’t that many first-class sides and it’s not a long fixture list.”The coach also acknowledged the impact of several of Afghanistan’s leading white-ball players not participating in first-class cricket. Players such as Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmad and Allah Ghazanfar do not play red-ball cricket regularly.“A lot of white-ball stars who are genuine stars in world cricket, they are not playing first-class cricket and that sometimes would not help the younger guys in this way. Every side historically, as it evolves, needs fixtures to play,” Pybus said.While the Afghanistan Cricket Board has restricted players to participating in a maximum of two T20 leagues, Pybus said financial realities also influence players’ decisions.“The board has given two leagues to every player, so they can go off. They’ve restricted the amount of leagues that can be played to protect the integrity of the domestic game. I don’t think the board’s in any situation, which any of the other boards are. There are economic decisions which players are going to make.”
