Afghanistan head coach Jonathan Trott believes that the bilateral T20I series against India is a ‘big step in the right direction’.
Despite playing its first-ever Test match against India back in 2018, it took Afghanistan nearly six years to feature in its maiden bilateral white-ball series against the same opponent.
Trott, who has been with the team for a couple of years now, believes that other boards should also engage in more bilateral series against the young Afghan side. Even though Afghan players are in great demand across the franchise leagues, the national team hasn’t been engaged in a bilateral series with England, Australia or South Africa yet.
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“The bilateral series is a big step in the right direction for our side. It’s an indication as well of the progress made by the side. Hopefully, it can happen all around the world and not just India, and we can play in other countries as well as many series as possible,” Trott said on the eve of the second T20I at the Holkar Stadium.
Afghanistan lost the first T20I by six wickets in Mohali a few days back. But even then, it was a packed house at the IS Bindra Stadium as spectators braved the biting cold to cheer for the teams.
“The more cricket we play as a side, the better it is for us. The players will get more exposure. At the moment, their exposure is limited to franchise cricket. This is the first bilateral series against India, and it’s a big occasion for the side. Individually, players have been all around the world, but we hope to go to countries as a team as well,” Trott said.
“We need to make sure we play well in this series and get ready for Sri Lanka, which is coming up in February. That will be a big series, as well as the one against Ireland, which will be the last T20I practice ahead of the World Cup. So, exciting times are ahead…”
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