Considered underdogs in the tournament, Afghanistan have achieved remarkable wins against strong teams, including defending champions England, 1992 winners Pakistan and 1996 champions Sri Lanka.
In a press conference following Afghanistan’s seven-wicket victory over Sri Lanka, Trott emphasized the importance of a batter scoring a century.
He stated, “Nobody has got a hundred so far yet, so that’s the next challenge. Someone accepts responsibility and bats for a longer period of time and makes sure we get a hundred.”
While players like Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran and Rahmat Shah have come close to centuries, they haven’t yet reached the three-figure mark in the ongoing World Cup.
Trott explained, “You see, a lot of hundreds are scored in the tournament. That’s the next frontier, the next barrier. Gurbaz has scored a few hundreds recently, you know Ibrahim has. The middle order is in form, 3-4-5-6, as well. That’s the next challenge, and I have no doubt that the players will be able to achieve it in the future. Hopefully, it starts with the next game.”
Afghanistan, known for their potent bowling attack, have traditionally been more comfortable defending totals. However, their recent performances have shown maturity as they have successfully chased targets in back-to-back victories.
Trott highlighted the team’s hard work on their batting and fundamental aspects of the game, along with players’ growing confidence in their abilities.
“The way that we train, the way we think about our cricket, certainly with batting, the way that we accept responsibility at times as well, I think you’re starting to see hopefully not the penny drop, but we’re starting to see also the confidence in the players, in their own ability,” said Trott.
Afghanistan’s victory against Sri Lanka has propelled them to the fifth spot in the standings. They have matches coming up against the Netherlands, Australia and South Africa.
Trott concluded, “I hope that the players realise the strides they’ve made in these matches, but there’s still extra room for improvement with bat, ball and in the field. There’re still three games to go. But we’ll certainly enjoy tonight’s (Monday) victory against a very good Sri Lankan side, who recently won the T20 Asia Cup (2022). They were in the final of the ODI Asia Cup (in September). So really happy.”
(With PTI inputs)