Afghanistan extends head coach Jonathan Trott's contract for one year

Kabul : The Afghanistan Cricket Board has extended for one year the contract of Jonathan Trott as the national team’s head coach after the Englishman guided them to sixth-place finish in a successful campaign at the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023 in India.

"Afghanistan Cricket Board confirms the extension of the contract with Jonathan Trott, the national team’s head coach, for the year 2024. The decision comes in after his successful 18-month tenure, during which he made significant contributions to the team’s progress and development," the ACB said in a statement on Monday.

The ACB had appointed the South Africa-born former England cricketer Trott as the national team’s head coach in July 2022.

Under his leadership, the team achieved a lot of success and secured several victories, including an impressive performance at the ACC T20 Men’s Asia Cup 2022, its maiden international win and a T20I series victory against Pakistan, a maiden ODI series win over Bangladesh and a successful campaign at the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023, finishing in top six with upset victories against England, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Trott has played 52 Test matches for England from 2009-2015, scoring 3835 runs at 44.08 with 9 centuries and 19 half-centuries to his name with the best of 226 in an inning. He has also represented England in 68 One-day Internationals (ODIs) during the period, scoring 2838 runs at 51.25 with four hundreds and 22 half-centuries.

Trott expressed his pleasure on the extension of his contract and stated that he is looking forward to spending more time with the squad and building on performances of the recently held ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023. The Afghanistan squad is currently in the United Arab Emirates for a three-match T20I series against the host team.

Following this, they are scheduled for an upcoming tour to India, where they will play the hosts in a three-match T20I series from January 11 to 17. Moreover, the team has a packed year ahead with various bilateral tours lined up, including their participation in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 scheduled for June in the Caribbean and USA.