Srinagar (J&K): Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) has appointed Dr Suhail Mir as a physiotherapist for the team. Dr Mir has taken over from Hyderabad's Prashant Parchada as the team physio and is accompanying the team to Abu Dhabi, UAE, where it will be undergoing training for twenty days. Kashmir's prominent physiotherapist Dr Mir, in the Facebook video, is seen chatting with the Afghanistan team captain Hashmat Shahidi. Shahidi has also expressed his interest in visiting Kashmir.
In the video, uploaded by Cricket Fraternity Dalgate, Shahidi while addressing the people of Kashmir said that they are happy with the way Dr Mir is serving and treating the team for the last week. “Dr Suhail is giving his 100 per cent. He has invited me to visit Kashmir one day. I have seen Kashmir in the videos and movies only. It is so beautiful just like Afghanistan. I will try my best to visit Kashmir in the future," the Afghanistan captain says in the video.
Dr Mir too follows up with gratitude to Hashmat, saying, "I am thankful to the captain for giving me positive feedback. He is leading from the front. His vision is to take the Afghan team to the next level in the next couple of years. I wish them the best of luck." It is not the first time Dr Mir has been hired by a cricket team as a physiotherapist, earlier he has served the Arunachal Pradesh Ranji Trophy team and has also worked with several local cricket teams across Jammu and Kashmir.
Meanwhile, Dr Mir has claimed that he was approached by the ACB earlier too but because of other commitments, he couldn't join. "I am happy to be a part of Afghanistan's National cricket team. Currently, I am with the team in Abu Dhabi for a 20-day camp. Things are going smoothly," Dr Mir said. "I was first approached by the ACB in 2019 but I couldn't accept the offer as I was already under contract with the Arunachal Pradesh cricket team. But when they approached me again this time, I couldn't say no and accepted the offer," he added.
As a part of the Afghanistan cricket team, Dr Mir will be working with cricket legends Younis Khan and Umar Gul. The ACB has recently hired Younis Khan and Umar Gul as batting and bowling consultants along with English veteran Graham Thorpe serving as a chief coach. Dr Mir holds a master's degree in Sports and Musculoskeletal Physiotherapy with a focus on preventive and post-injury rehabilitation and has worked as the Head of the department at SBCC Dammam MOH Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. He was associated with Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association in 2008, 2016 and 2017. In 2018, he was appointed as the physiotherapist for the Arunachal Pradesh cricket team.
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