Irish internationals Niall O’Brien and Paul Stirling are looking ahead to new but distinctly differing challenges on the eve of joining the Kandahar Knights, a franchise team established for the inaugural year of the Afghanistan Premier League T20 competition.

AVA- O’Brien, the Dublin-born wicketkeeper-batsman who made his international debut for Ireland in 2002, was recently announced as the batting coach for the Knights:
"This will be a first for me, but I have played franchise cricket in India and Bangladesh so I’m aware of the need for teams to gel quickly and find a formula that works quickly as games come thick and fast."
"I’m lucky enough to be working with Head Coach Kabir Ali. I know Kabs very well having spent a fair bit of time together down the years in various cricketing circles. He has plenty of experience and was a high quality quick bowler in his day. He has earned his stripes over the last few years coaching and it’s great to see him get this well-deserved opportunity."
Asked how the new coaching opportunity arose, O’Brien said: "My name was on a database circulated to each franchise and they saw value in me joining their team. It was really pleasing when I got the call and I jumped at the opportunity.
"It will also be great to gain experience for my future endeavours as I would love to get more involved in coaching. I have a real passion for it but I appreciate opportunities are not that easy to come by."
Belfast-born Stirling, fresh from completing another successful season with English County side Middlesex, was picked up in the player draft and heads to Sharjah knowing he will have a few familiar faces around him in the Knights dressing room:
"I am looking forward to getting out and joining high-quality players from different countries and backgrounds to see how they go about their business in T20 cricket.
"I played with [Knights captain] Brendon McCullum previously at Middlesex. Baz is a very relaxed character who gets the best out of his players by giving them the ability to play with freedom and without fear of failure. He’s someone who leads from the front and sets the example - which we saw during the recent CPL campaign where he captained his side to their second successive title. Hopefully he can help do the same with Kandahar."