Afghanistan head coach Jonathan Trott was highly critical of the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) over lack of communication. He revealed that even though he has tried his level-best to get inputs on the squad from the chief selector and top management, he hasn't been able to get hold of them for the last few weeks. This statement comes following Afghanistan's defeat to Zimbabwe in the one-off Test. Rashid Khan & Co. suffered a one-sided loss by an innings and 73 runs in the match.
“The sad thing for me is that I haven’t been able to have any input on the squad. I haven’t had any communication with the top management of the ACB or with the chief selector,” Trott told Zimbabwe’s news outlet Sportscast.
“I’ve been trying to get hold of them for the last couple of weeks. I have also been trying to reach the chairman, but I haven’t received any response or feedback on the selection process. This lack of communication hasn’t just affected this squad, but also the previous few squads since the Asia Cup didn’t go our way. There has been no meaningful contact at all,” he added.
Trott on his tenure as head coach
Trott further admitted that if the lack of communication with the board continues, then he would have no choice but to step down from his role of head coach. He further said that he has been already told that his tenure will go on t ill the 2026 T20 World Cup and following that, he will need to decide whether he wants to continue or not.
“Well, I don’t know. I would like to open up communication with the board. I have been told that my tenure runs until the T20 World Cup, which is only a couple more months away. After that, I will need to assess whether the job description or responsibilities of the head coach have changed,” Trott stated.
Afghanistan's performance under Trott
Meanwhile, Trott has had a remarkable tenure with Afghanistan especially when it comes to ICC tournaments. Under his guidance, the side came incredibly close to securing a place in the semi-finals of the 2023 ODI World Cup, but fell on the final hurdle and were defeated by eventual-champions Australia. They followed that up with a highly impressive campaign in the 2024 T20 World Cup and went on to make the semi-finals for the first time in an ICC event.
On the other hand, Afghanistan's tour of Zimbabwe isn't over as of yet and they will now be competing in a three-match T20I series against the hosts that will commence from October 29.