Stepping down from his role as Afghanistan’s head coach after their final T20 World Cup 2026 match, Jonathan Trott looked back on his tenure with the side and broke down in tears in a press conference. Trott was speaking after Afghanistan’s win over Canada. Despite the win, Afghanistan failed to qualify for the Super Eight stage.
It was officially his last moment as Afghanistan’s head coach, ending a three-and-a-half year stint. While answering a question on his role during the interaction, Trott broke down, and words failed to escape his throat and there were tears in his eyes. Soon, he regained composure and continued to praise the team.
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“Well, I just think, and I could sit here and tell you so many stories of things that I’ve seen with my own eyes, but in the talent, yes – I said I didn’t want to get upset. I just remember my first trip when we were in Ireland, and I saw things that made me realise these boys are so talented and focused. And if you just us to add a little bit of structure to the mindset, professionalism, and the high standards that we hold ourselves to, not individuals, but we hold each other to those high standards and professionalism,” he said.
“I remember seeing Ibra (Ibrahim Zadran) for the first time, I remember seeing Azmat (Azmatullah Omarzai) for the first time, I remember seeing Gurbaz (Rahmanullah Gurbaz) for the first time and thinking, what amazing players. Let’s try and build on what we’ve got, this natural raw talent. Cool, thanks. And let’s see where we can get to. We had the names Mujeeb, Nabi, Rashid, all these guys. But it’s just one of those things. And I remember how chaotic that first tour was, and where we are now is chalk and cheese.
“The players need so much credit for the level they operate at, the advantages they’re afforded as youngsters to develop their skills and their passion for the game.”
The win against Canada was their second win of the tournament. Defeats to New Zealand and South Africa meant that the Afghans failed to qualify for the next round.
It was Trott’s final game in charge, and under him, Afghanistan have enjoyed excellent form over more than three years, including reaching the semifinals of the 2024 T20 World Cup.
“They operate at such a high level compared to what they’re afforded compared to other countries, but yet they can come on this stage and compete and almost people expect us to be in the semifinals and finals, which I find amazing that they can do that, handle the pressure, but also the background, they don’t have the sort of day-to-day coaching that young players have, academies and facilities and all these things and schooling,” he said.
“So for me I look at these guys and I’m going out to – and I was thinking today and I’ll be honest, I was sitting there now, some of these unfortunately education-wise, if I hadn’t have gone to schooling and hadn’t gone to all the academies, hadn’t gone to all the coaching sessions and had the upbringing that I was afforded, I’m not sure I’d be able to stand on that field in front of 20, 000 people and understand and be able to know exactly how I felt and how I’d execute things.
“The amount of coaching I’ve had compared to the coaching that these guys are now operating at international levels is chalk and cheese. So, I take my hat off to every single one of them. And, so for me, it’s the level they operate at that will always amaze me, and from watching from afar, I’ll always be very fond and want the guys to do well,” he added.
