Lowly ranked Afghanistan has pulled off some of the biggest upsets in the ongoing ICC World Cup tournament. It has toppled England, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. All these nations are ex World Cup champions. Afghanistan’s spectacular show has stunned the big powers of international cricket. The pundits, who had never considered the chances of this team earlier, are left speechless.
The spirit and energy of the team is provided by their young players, most of who are in their twenties. But who are the men who have scripted this resurgence and given the players so much confidence?
Head coach Jonathan Trott
The head coach of the Afghanistan team is Jonathan Trott who is himself quite young for a coach. The 42 year old Trott is an Englishman who was born in South Africa. He had played 52 Test matches and 68 ODI matches for England during his playing career which spanned the period between 2007 and 2015.
After the excellent win over Sri Lanka, the Englishman has bigger dreams for his players. The Afghans need to score hundreds to further establish their strength in international cricket. Against Sri Lanka, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi and Azmatullah Omarzai scored 62, 58 not out and 73 not out, as Afghanistan chased down the target of 242 with 28 balls left in their innings. But now Trott will be aiming to make his players reach the centuries that they are capable of scoring.
Ajay Jadeja is the mentor
India’s former all rounder Ajay Jedeja, who was a regular member of the Indian team from 1992 to 2000, is the mentor of the Afghanistan squad.
Due to his alleged involvement in match fixing, the BCCI imposed a life ban on him in 2000. But as it often happens in the BCCI, the decision was later changed and they reduced it to five years. In 2003, a Delhi court lifted his ban entirely. However he was never able to play again for the Indian team.
But now Jadeja is trying to fulfill his dreams by mentoring the Afghan players. A mentor’s role is different from the role of a head coach. A mentor often interacts with the players on a one to one basis. He offers advice and guidance on many factors which may even be about matters outside the field that may be affecting a player’s game.
Many of the Afghan players are playing in India for the first time so Jadeja’s guiding hand helps them to adjust to the on-field conditions as well as different food, culture and language problems.
“Most of the teams playing in this world cup have a cricketing history of 100 to 150 years. Among them Afghanistan is like a baby that has just been born. But we are trying to ensure that our players do not get overawed by their rivals. If their mental approach is correct, they can play to their full potential and demolish the rival teams,” said Jadeja.
The other coaches
The Assistant coach of the team is a former international cricketer named Raees Ahmadzai. The batting coach is Milap Mewada, a former cricketer from Baroda and the bowling coach is another international cricketer named Hamid Hassan who used to be a fast bowler for Afghanistan during his playing days.
Together all these men have come together to create a formidable unit. Afghanistan has set the tournament on fire and their fans are jubilant. Some students from Afghanistan who are studying in India turned up at the ground to watch and cheer their team as it trounced Sri Lanka.
One cannot help but empathise with the players and fans of Afghanistan. These are players who have battled their way up from dusty fields without the requisite equipment. No sponsors were there to pamper them with financial encouragement. No advertisers came to their doorsteps. After a difficult initiation into world cricket the team has risen from ashes to unexpected heights. Cricket needs such giant killers to warm the hearts of all the spectators regardless of nationality
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