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'We Were Never...': Jonathan Trott Admits AFG Were Not Aware of DRS Calculations

image-lm78g26cAfghanistan head coach Jonathan Trott | Source: Twitter 

In an unexpected turn of events, Afghanistan's team made a critical mistake in calculating their net run rate, resulting in a costly defeat against Sri Lanka in Lahore. This defeat was a bitter pill to swallow, as it meant they fell short of securing a spot in the Super Fours of the 2023 Asia Cup. 

Meanwhile, Jonathan Trott, the head coach of Afghanistan, has admitted that his team had no awareness of the calculations that could have kept their hopes alive for a Super Four spot in the Asia Cup, despite falling short of their target of 292 against Sri Lanka within the stipulated 37.1 overs.

Notably, after the conclusion of the 37th over, Afghanistan's total stood at 289 for 8, meaning they required three runs off the last ball for victory while aiming to better their net run rate (NRR) compared to Sri Lanka, who were also fighting to secure a spot in the Super Fours. 

In a high-stakes effort to hit a boundary off Dhananjaya de Silva, Mujeeb Ur Rahman was caught at the long-on boundary. This caused Rashid Khan, who was at the non-striker's end, to slump to his knees, indicating that they had lost the opportunity and would not be able to cross the line.

However, Fazalhaq Farooqi, who seemed unaware of the qualification chance like the other Afghanistan batters, failed to capitalize on a full toss delivery from Dhananjaya de Silva. He chose to defend the second delivery to cover and was subsequently dismissed on the third ball, leading to Afghanistan being bowled out for 289 in 37.4 overs. 

Jonathan Trott mentioned during the post-match press conference that his team had not been briefed by the match officials about the intricate details of net run rate (NRR) calculations. Here’s what he had to say on the blunder committed by Afghanistan team: 

"We were never communicated those calculations. All we were communicated was we needed to win in 37.1 overs. We weren't told what the overs in which we could get 295 or 297. [That we could win in] 38.1 overs was never communicated to us." 

While reflecting on Afghanistan's exit from the continental tournament, Trott refrained from putting the blame to any one factor but did express his concern about the performance of his bowlers in this game and their first match against Bangladesh, where they conceded 334 runs. 

“I don't think there's one reason we lost the game," Trott said. "There are areas of the game we could have done better [in] and that goes for today's game and the one against Bangladesh. We got some things horribly wrong in a few areas and it's cost us. It'd be nice if we'd bowled them out a bit cheaper. But it wasn't to be." 

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka have qualified for the Super Fours stage after their narrow victory over Afghanistan.