As per the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB), they had to choose among over 50 applicants for the post of the national side's coach, but Klusener won the race against them all. During the period between Simmons' departure and Klusener's entry, Andy Moles, himself a former coach of Afghanistan but now a part of the selection contingent, was the team's acting head coach, a tenure that included the just concluded T20 tri-series in Bangladesh.

Klusener, after his appointment, stated, "I am extremely excited and honored to be allowed to work with some of the best talents in world cricket. Everyone knows the fearless brand of cricket Afghanistan plays".

"I am very confident that with some hard work, we can become one of the best sides in the world. I am really looking forward to working with the Afghanistan team and helping them take their cricket to the next level".

Klusener, who represented South Africa in 49 Tests and 171 ODIs for eight years from 1996, was a rare explosive batsman lower down the order and a brilliant finisher during his times. He has multiple coaching experiences in the past, having just helped South Africa for their T20s in India, after serving as batting coach of Zimbabwe in 2016, briefly guiding the South Africa lower order against England at home in 2015-16, and coaching his home side the Dolphins 2012.