Jonathan Trott reflects on journey with Afghanistan after his last game as team's coach
Outgoing Afghanistan coach Jonathan Trott has reflected on his stint with the Afghanistan cricket team after the former England cricketer's caoching tenure ended on Thursday following Afghanistan's elimination from the ongoing ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026, despite securing an emphatic 82-run win over the Canada, according to the ICC website.
While Afghanistan marked their second win of the T20 World Cup 2026 with victory over Canada, earlier defeats to New Zealand and South Africa meant they could not secure a place in the Super 8 stage of the tournament. From Group D, South Africa and New Zealand advanced to the Super 8s.
The match against Canada marked Jonathan Trott's final game in charge of Afghanistan. The former England international guided the team through more than three successful years, highlighted by a remarkable run to the semi-finals of the 2024 T20 World Cup. Reflecting on his tenure, Trott said he leaves with many fond memories, having seen the players grow both individually and as a team.
"I always feel very fortunate enough to have had a lot of memories as a player but also now as a coach as well. I think even at this ground (in Chennai), beating Pakistan, I think, the first time in the World Cup, 50-over game, beating England, two games in St. Vincent, that's World Cup stuff. But there's been lots of other things we've achieved, bilateral series, firsts we've beaten Pakistan, Bangladesh away, South Africa, all these sorts of things," Trott said as quoted by the ICC website.
"So I'm very fortunate enough to have coached some really great players, some really good humans, a good bunch of guys and areas to improve everywhere," he added.
Trott indicated that nurturing a stronger pool of dependable fast bowlers to complement spinners Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman would be crucial for Afghanistan as they look to take the next step in their cricketing progress.
"The consistency and development of some more seamers that will aid the spinners and not just be heavily reliant on spinners, develop some seam bowlers so that when the team plays in conditions perhaps like the World Cup in 2027 (in South Africa and Namibia), they'll be able to handle all different varieties of conditions," Trott noted.
Trott said Afghanistan are building strong batting depth but now need quality seamers to compete globally. He added that he has enjoyed his time with the team, is unsure about his future plans, and wishes they were still in the tournament to play in the next round.
"They're developing the batting resources to be able to have that, and it's about having the seamers now so they can compete all around the world, hopefully. I've really enjoyed this and I don't know what the future holds. Maybe have a couple of days off and see how it goes. I look forward to seeing how the rest of the World Cup goes. Gee, I wish we were still here and able to play in the next round," Trott said.
Trott expressed pride in his playing career and admiration for England, saying he would love the chance to coach a team he holds dear.
"I'm very proud of where I played my cricket and always like to see the England side do well. I'd be lying. I'd love to one day hopefully have the opportunity to coach a team that you hold so dear to your heart. There are a lot of people that I'm sure would love to do that job," he added.
Coming to the Afghanistan vs Canada match, Ibrahim Zadran's fantastic knock and a clinical bowling display led by Mohammad Nabi helped Afghanistan outplay Canada in all departments to secure a comprehensive win.
Put into bat, Afghanistan's opening pair once again started well, putting on 47 runs. However, star batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz fell for 30, and Afghanistan slipped to 49/2 in the power play.
Ibrahim Zadran led the Afghanistan rebuild with a gritty half-century, his second successive fifty at the World Cup. His 95-run partnership with Sediqullah Atal (44) gave Afghanistan the perfect platform to launch the final few overs.
Carrying through, Zadran scored his personal best knock of 95 off 56, which is also the highest score by an Afghanistan player in this edition of the World Cup. In a well-paced innings, he struck seven fours and five sixes. Afghanistan posted a challenging score of 200/4 in 20 overs.
For Canada, Jaskarandeep Singh was the most successful bowler and ended with 3/52 in four overs. Chasing 201, the last match centurion, Yuvraj Samra departed for 17 runs off 14 balls, with three fours by off-spinner Mohammad Nabi.
Captain Dilpreet Bajwa (13) was clean bowled by Mujeeb Ur Rahman, and Navneet Dhailwal departed after a five-ball duck to Azmatullah Omarzai. Canada crawled to 34/3 in six overs.
Wickets continued to fall for Canada after the power play. Mohammad Nabi removed Nicholas Kirton (20) during the eighth over, and wicketkeeper-batter Shreyas Movva (2) was dismissed to Rashid Khan in the next over as Canada reached 48/5 in nine overs.
Saad Bin Zafar (28), Dilon Heyliger (3), Jaskaran Singh (7*) and Ansh Patel (2*) also had forgetfull day as Canada crawled to 118/8 in 20 overs, losing the one-sided contest by 82 runs. For Afghanistan, Mohammad Nabi (4/7), captain Rashid Khan (2/19), Azmatullah Omarzai (1/18) and Mujeeb Ur Rahman (1/23) were among the wicket takers.
