KABUL: Former England batter Jonathan Trott has signed a contract extension as Afghanistan head coach following their remarkable World Cup campaign in India.

Afghanistan finished sixth of 10 teams at the 50-overs World Cup where they registered upset wins over former winners Eng­land, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, and came close to humbling eventual champions Australia.

The 42-year-old, who has signed an extension to the end of the year, also oversaw Afghanistan’s T20 series victory against Pak­is­tan and a one-day series win against Bangladesh in his first stint.

“The decision comes in after his successful 18-month tenure, during which he made significant contributions to the teams progress and development,” the Afghanistan Cricket Board said in a statement on Monday.

“Mr. Jonathan 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 Cricket World Cup 2023.”

Afghanistan, currently playing a T20 series in the United Arab Emirates against the home side, will play three 20-overs matches in India later this month.

Trott will then look to get his team playing the same brand of fearless cricket at the T20 World Cup in June in the United States and West Indies.

Published in Dawn, January 3rd, 2024