Afghanistan head coach West Indian Phil Simmons is using the IPL to motivate his players, in a bid to lift Afghanistan’s batting to the standard of their bowling in the build-up to the 2019 World Cup.

None of the three Afghanistan cricketers to have featured in the tournament so far – Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan and Mujeeb ur Rahman – are batsmen.

Simmons believes the widespread recognition an IPL performance can offer players, as well as the experience gained at the league among other such overseas assignments, offers long-term gains for the national team.

In the inaugural test against India, Afghanistan lasted just 66.3 overs across both innings, losing inside two days.

In two of their last three ODI’S against Ireland, they made 227 and 182 respectively.