Latif backs Afghanistan to gain Test status

SYDNEY - Afghanistan coach Rashid Latif has said that Test status for his team could prove vital for development of the game in the war-torn country.

Latif, a former Pakistan wicketkeeper, also said that the Afghanistan team, which had qualified for this year’s Twenty20 World Cup, was already better than Test strugglers Bangladesh.

“I’m not interested in Twenty20 cricket or 50-overs cricket. We need to compete in Test cricket. If a country has Test cricket you can improve your cricket at the grassroots level,” the Sydney Morning Herald quoted Latif, as saying.

“Bangladesh had Test cricket [from 2001] and after that they greatly improved, but I think this Afghanistan side is better than their current team. In two or three years we should be ready to apply for Test status,” he added.

Latif’s comment comes after he masterminded Afghanistan’s silver medal winning effort in the Guangzhou Asian Games men’s Twenty20 cricket event. (ANI)