Afghan cricket coach reveals how he transformed team into 'formidable WC-qualifying' side

Afghanistan national cricket team coach Kabir Khan has revealed how he transformed his team into a formidable side, which qualified for the ICC Cricket World Cup for the first time in the country's history on Friday.

The war-torn country's team, which is deprived of international cricket at home for security reasons, will play in the 2015 World Cup following a seven-wicket win over Kenya at Sharjah.

According to the Gulf News, Khan revealed that his team had to through a lot of pressure in the last 12 months as they had to win all their games given that Ireland, Holland and Scotland were all above them, adding that the UAE, which was denied a place in the tournament, were also on the same level as them.

Stating that he realised that his players were getting emotional in pressure games thereby creating a negative impact on the team, Khan said that although he was aware that they would have been denied a slot in the 2015 event if they lost a match, he made his players enjoy the pressure given their previous lack of success in similar situations.

Khan further said that the players quickly learnt to handle such situations and not to lose their wickets easily even with the lack of runs, adding that he had taught the players never to be scared of losing.

Believing that the big nations in the World Cup will not scare his players, Khan also said that patience is vital in 50-over games unlike Twenty20s, adding that with patience and ability to enjoy pressures, his team can beat the big nations and put on a good show.