by Mariah Shah
SRINAGAR: Kashmir’s prominent physiotherapist, Dr Suhail Ahmad Mir has been appointed as a sports physiotherapist by the Afghanistan cricket team. Dr Suhail has joined his duty and is accompanying the team to Abu Dhabi, UAE, where it will be undergoing training for twenty days.
In a Facebook video, Suhail is shown chatting with the captain of the Afghan team, Hashmat Shahidi who later expressed his interest in visiting Kashmir.
“I want to tell people that we are happy with the way Suhail has been serving the team for the past week,” Hashmat was heard saying in the video uploaded on the ‘Cricket Fraternity Dalgate’ page. “Dr Suhail is giving his 100 per cent. He asked me to visit Kashmir one day. I have seen Kashmir in the videos only. It is so beautiful. I will try my best to visit Kashmir in the future.”
In exchange for gratitude, with a wide smile, Suhail thanked Hashmat by saying: “I am thankful to the captain for giving 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.”
Prior to his hiring by Afghanistan, Dr Suhail was serving the Arunachal Pradesh Ranji Trophy team as a physiotherapist. He has previously worked with a number of cricket teams across Jammu and Kashmir.
“I feel proud and happy to be joining the National cricket team of Afghanistan as a physiotherapist,” Suhail was quoted saying by a Srinagar based newspaper. “I have been given this opportunity by the Afghanistan Cricket Board and I have been working with an extremely talented bunch of players.”
He has also communicated that he was earlier provided with the chance to join the team but had missed it due to other obligations.
“I was offered this role in 2019 but couldn’t join the team as I was already under contract with the Arunachal Pradesh cricket team. This time, when the chance came, I couldn’t miss it and readily agreed and arrived here in Abu Dhabi,” Dr Suhail said.
The newspaper read that Dr Suhail compliments the Afghanistan cricket players for their fitness and professionalism. “The players look fit and give out their best during cardio and other physical activity. They are cheerful people and love to do things in a cordial manner.”
Suhail has said that it is an honour for him to work with legends like Younis Khan and Umar Gul.
Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB), lately, availed services of Younis Khan and Umar Gul as batting and bowling consultants with English veteran Graham Thorpe serving as a chief coach, Cricnode, an online site absorbed in Cricket conveyed.
“For a cricket fan like me, it is an honour to get an opportunity to work alongside legends like Younis Khan and Umar Gul. I am also looking forward to working with the chief coach of the team, England legend Graham Thorpe,” said Suhail while communicating with the local newspaper.
Mir holds his master’s in Sports and Musculoskeletal Physiotherapy with a focus on preventive and post-injury rehabilitation. He has worked as the Head of the department at SBCC Dammam MOH Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. He was with Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association in 2008, 2016 and 2017. In 2018, BCCI appointed him as the sports physiotherapist for the Arunachal Pradesh cricket team.
Mir has succeeded Prashant Parchada as the team physio. He was from Hyderabad.
