Dubai, Sep 30 (IANS): Former Indian pacer Venkatesh Prasad will be the chief coach for the Nangarhar Leopards franchise, making its debut in the newly formed Afghanistan Premium League T20 (APLT20), starting October 5 here.
Nangarhar Leopards will also see dashing West Indian all-rounder Andre Russell as icon player.
Widely regarded as one of the hardest hitters of the cricket ball (Russell has hit a century in 42 balls), the Caribbean player has featured for West Indies, Delhi Daredevils, Islamabad United Jamaica, JamaicaTallawahs, Kolkata Knight Riders, Sydney Thunder, Sylhet Royals, Vancouver Knights, West Indies A & Worcestershire.
The Leopards squad will see other high calibre players including Mujeeb Zadran, Ben Cutting, Shafiqullah Shafaq, Najibullah Taraki, Mitchell McClenaghan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mohammad Hafeez, Rahmat Shah, Naveen Ul Haq, Zahir Khan, Sandeep Lamichhane, Fazal Haq, Imran Janat, Nasratullah Quarishi, Khyber Omar, Ibrahim Zadran & Faal Nazai.
In fact 17-year old Mujeeb Zadran, the youngest player in the entire APL T20, will be making his league debut as part of Nangarhar Leopards.
Prasad has played 33 Tests and 161 ODIs for India and has recently been seen as chief junior selector for India and is also the current coach for IPL franchise Kings XI Punjab.
He has also had coaching stints with IPL franchises like Royal Challengers Bangalore and Chennai Super Kings.