As Afghanistan prepare to lock horns with Bangladesh in a crucial Group B fixture in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday, their coach Jonathan Trott believes they start as slight favourites. Since becoming a regular in the Asia Cup, Afghanistan have grown from strength-to-strength and during last year’s T20 World Cup, where they made it to the semi-finals, overcame Bangladesh to be the second best Asian side behind eventual champions India.
Particularly in T20 format, where Bangladesh have historically struggled, Afghanistan have been a dominant force when ever these two teams have met. Armed with world-class spinners and aggressive batsmen, they have overcome Bangladesh with ease in recent times, which has made Trott believe that they start as favourites.
“Since I’ve been with the side, we’ve had some memorable moments,” Trott said on the eve of the game. “I think back to when we beat Bangladesh in a 50-over series in Bangladesh for the first time [in 2023]. It had never been done before, and given how strong Bangladesh have been at home, to go there and do that gave us a lot of confidence and positivity,” he said.
Trott specifically picked their T20 World Cup win St Vincent last year, where there was plenty of drama on the field with net run-rate equation in play, as a fixture that gave them plenty of confidence. “Then there was the win in St Vincent at the [2024] T20 World Cup, which helped us qualify for the semi-final. That was such a tight, historic game, and it gave us great belief. This group I’m currently working with is not shy about achieving new things or breaking new ground. Whenever there’s something that hasn’t been done before, like a big obstacle or a big challenge, this Afghan side rises to the occasion. They’re not only setting new standards for themselves but also paving the way for future players to keep pushing those boundaries,” Trott said.
After beating Hong Kong in their opening fixture, Afghanistan have enjoyed a six-week break before they face Bangladesh which has already lost to Sri Lanka. For Bangladesh to stay alive in the tournament, a win against Afghanistan is a must on Tuesday. Though the conditions have been spinner friendly, Trott cautioned that just because it suits Afghanistan, victory may not be a certainty. “We saw during the triangular series that just because the ball is spinning, it doesn’t automatically mean we’re going to win games. We still have to do everything else well, and I stress that. Yes, our spinners have played a lot of franchise cricket and plenty of international T20 and ODI cricket, but we’ve got to be consistent across all departments. That’s why we work so hard as a side,” he said.
