Afghanistan Cricket Board extend head coach Jonathan Trott's contract by 1 year after historic performance in ICC events
Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) have retained Jonathan Trott as their team's head coach for the next 12 months. Trott received the contract extension following Afghanistan's incredible rise under his guidance.
In 2023, Afghanistan grabbed headlines by defeating defending champions England and former world champions Pakistan in the ODI World Cup hosted by India. In June 2024, the Afghan team produced a memorable performance in T20 World Cup, knocking out Australia in the Super 8s. For the first time in ICC events history, Afghanistan qualified for the semifinals of a marquee tournament.
After the T20 World Cup, the Afghan side defeated South Africa and Bangladesh in bilateral ODI series.
On December 9, ACB announced that Jonathan Trott will continue as their head coach in 2025. The board officials are delighted with the team's progress, and they expect the team to touch new heights over the next 12 months.
Can Jonathan Trott guide Afghanistan to their maiden ICC trophy?
While Afghanistan have won several Qualifiers tournaments, they have never won a marquee ICC event. The Afghan team has an opportunity to end their title drought next year when the ICC Champions Trophy takes place.
Afghanistan secured qualification for the mega event by finishing in the Top 8 of the ICC ODI World Cup 2023 points table. They will compete with seven other teams for the prestigious ICC Champions Trophy title. Notably, the last two editions of the Champions Trophy were won by Asian teams.
It will be exciting to see if Afghanistan can lift the trophy. Apart from that, head coach Jonathan Trott will also have the responsibility to prepare a solid T20I squad for T20 World Cup 2026, which will happen in India and Sri Lanka.
As far as Afghanistan's immediate future is concerned, the team is set to tour Zimbabwe. Trott will only be the coach for the ODI leg as he will miss Tests and T20Is due to personal reasons. In his absence, Hamid Hassan and Nawroz Mangal will be the head coach and assistant coach.