London, Feb 3 (IANS): Former West Indies head coach Phil Simmons has been appointed technical consultant to the Afghanistan cricket side.

The 53-year-old, who played 26 Tests and 143 One-Day Internationals for the West Indies, will assist current head coach Lalchand Rajput, the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) said, reports CMC.

"Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) management considers Simmons appointment a valuable step in players' capacity development," an ACB statement said on Thursday.

"His appointment will have a great impact on team performance."

Simmons was sacked as the West Indies coach last September, five months after overseeing the side's second Twenty20 World Cup triumph in India.

He is a former Ireland head coach and spent six years in the role before leaving in 2015 to take charge of the West Indies.

The first assignment for Trinidadian Simmons will be to help oversee Afghanistan's preparation for a series against Ireland in India comprising five One-Day Internationals, three Twenty20s and a four-day International Cricket Council (ICC) Intercontinental Cup fixture.

Simmons will then face another of his former teams when the Afghans take on the West Indies in five ODIs and three T20s in June in the Caribbean.