Simmons, who took over the position in December 2017, said he has achieved his target of taking Afghanistan to the World Cup and the time is ripe for him to leave.
Teen sensation Rashid Khan and fellow spinners Mujeeb ur Rahman, Zahir Khan and Hamza Hotak have been named in the 16-member Afghanistan squad for the inaugural one-off Test match against India, starting in Bengaluru, from June 14.
Down and out, the two bottom-placed teams know that this will be their best chance to post their first win in the ongoing 50-over showpiece.
IMAGES from the World Cup match played between India and Afghanistan in Southampton on Saturday
West Indies won the battle of the ICC World Cup's basement dwellers, beating Afghanistan by 23 runs in their final group match at Headingley on Thursday.
Afghanistan's former coach Lalchand Rajput believes that they can "upset some of the top teams" in mega tournament, primarily banking on their spinners.
Eager to keep their semi-final hopes alive, a desperate Bangladesh will have their work cut out when they take on a spirited Afghanistan in a do-or-die World Cup encounter in Southampton on Monday. England's defeat at the hands of Sri Lanka on Friday breathed air into Bangladesh's hopes of securing a semi-final berth and the 'Tigers' will be keen on making the most of the situation starting with a win over the bottom-placed Afghanistan.
'It's a historic moment for them and an opportunity for us to be part of the occasion'
Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Mohammad Nabi are a spin-bowling unit the equal of any in the world
There were close matches, acrobatic fielding, some sharp bowling and big runs scored in the round-robin phase. Here are some memorable moments from the World Cup so far
Afghanistan kept their hopes alive for a place in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 when they defeated the West Indies by three wickets.
Images from Monday's World Cup match between Bangladesh and Afghanistan, in Southampton.
None other than India skipper Virat Kohli acknowledged Afghanistan's rapid rise in the last four years.
Images from Day 1 of the one-off Test, between India and Afghanistan, in Bengaluru, on Thursday.
Afghanistan beat Kenya by seven wickets, at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, to earn automatic qualification to the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015.
All-rounder Imad Wasim's unbeaten 49 guided Pakistan to a thrilling three-wicket victory over minnows Afghanistan in Leeds on Saturday, maintaining their hopes of reaching the World Cup semi-finals.
Images from the England-Afghanistan World Cup match in Manchester, on Tuesday.
'I still don't know why I was ruled unfit when I was fit enough to play'
Afghanistan showed some fight to set a target of 208 runs to win for Australia on Saturday.
1983 World Cup winner Krishnamachari Srikkanth believes Virat Kohli's captaincy, and Jasprit Bumrah and Yuzvendra Chahal's excellent bowling, were the key to India's narrow victory over Afghanistan.
Afghanistan's controversial campaign, marred by poor on and off-field decisions, has gone from bad to worse. They now face the onerous task of squaring off against a galaxy of world class players, whose performance graph is on the upswing.
Neesham, a batting all-rounder, rocked the Afghanistan innings by his incisive bowling and in the process returned with his career-best figures of 5/31 from his 10 overs. His earlier best was 4/42.
Afghanistan mystery spinner Mujeeb Zadran says tricks of the trade learnt from Ravichandran Ashwin in this season's Indian Premier League will come in handy during his team's inaugural Test against India, starting in Bengaluru from Thursday.
Jasprit Bumrah in full flow is always a joy to watch, six or seven stuttering steps, a skip and a shuffle, followed by undiluted fire and fury.
Debutants Afghanistan were bowled out twice in a day to lose the one-off Test match against India by an innings and 262 runs, in Bengaluru, on Friday.
The only problem for India in the Asia Cup so far has been lack of batting time for the likes of Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Kedar Jadhav and Dinesh Karthik.
During a time where West Indian cricket has struggled to hit the heights of the great teams of the 1970s and 1980s, he has been more than just a great entertainer at the top of the order.
Chasing a competitive 258 for victory, Pakistan overhauled the target with just three balls to spare with former captain Shoaib Malik (51 off 43 balls) getting the winning runs.
Rohit Sharma-led India's main aim would be to settle their middle-order combination and also find a perfect batting position for Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
Spinner Rashid Khan celebrated his 20th birthday in style by producing a stunning all-round display as Afghanistan beat Bangladesh by 136 runs in an Asia Cup match in Abu Dhabi on Thursday.
Working on the rigorous requirements of five-day cricket will the biggest challenge for his team over the next six weeks, feels Afghanistan coach Phil Simmons
Chris Gayle joined Hashim Amla and Sachin Tendulkar as only the third batsman in the history of ODI cricket to score centuries against 11 different countries, while Shimron Hetmyer hit his maiden century as the Windies defeated the United Arab Emirates by 60 runs in their opening Group A fixture of the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2018 at the Old Hararians in Harare on Tuesday.
India take on a war-ravaged-but-resilient Afghanistan in their first ever Test match, in Bengaluru, on Thursday.
Rajneesh Gupta profiles the cricketers playing the World Cup 2019.
Sri Lanka won the just-concluded Asia Cup, but none of their players figure in Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji's most valuable player index. Check it out.
Rajneesh Gupta presents all the fascinating career numbers of players in the World Cup.
The International Cricket Council released the provisional squads of the 12 teams for next year's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand on Friday. However, co-hosts Australia and minnows Ireland decided against releasing the provisional list although they submitted 30 names to the parent body within the stipulated deadline.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances