Srinagar: Former England batter and current Afghanistan coach Jonathan Trott has said that his side was not aware about actual runrate scenario as they weren’t communicated about the same.
Afghanistan crashed out of the Asia Cup 2023 after losing the thrilling group match
Afghanistan were all-out for 289 in 37.4 overs in one of the finest Asia Cup thrillers.
Afghanistan coach Jonathan Trott said that the match officials did not inform his team of the finer NRR permutations.
Soon after the defeat, fans slammed Afghanistan’s support staff, including their analyst, after the team potentially missed out on a place in the Super Fours of the Asia Cup 2023 due to a blunder in understanding the qualification scenario during a thrilling chase against Sri Lanka in Lahore on September 5.
Afghanistan came within 3 runs of a stunning chase of 292 against Sri Lanka, falling short by only 3 runs in the end, being swept out for 289 in 37.4 overs.
“We were never communicated those calculations,” Trott said in the post match press conference.
Afghanistan needed to chase 292 in 37.1 overs or get to 295 in 37.5 overs in a complex qualification scenario. The broadcasters also initially missed mentioning it as they only displayed the first scenario in which Afghanistan needed 292 in 37.1 overs. However, the on-air commentators kept mentioning the extended qualification scenario for Afghanistan toward the end of the 37th over.
“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.”
“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.”