Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi has revealed that a single word from coach Jonathan Trott changed his mindset. Afghanistan comfortably outclassed Sri Lanka on Monday with Shahidi playing a pivotal part in the chase, smashing a second consecutive fifty to guide his team to the victory shores.  

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At the post-match ceremony, Shahidi lauded the backroom staff for their support during the tournament as well as Trott for his advice.

“The support staff is always positive, we work very hard before coming into the World Cup. They work really hard and provide us with a lot of confidence, especially Jonathan, he’s always positive.  Before the Pakistan game, he told me one word that changed my mindset,” said Trott.  

Asked about his match-winning knock, Trott said it was all about leading from the front and seeing the game through. 

“As a captain, you should lead from the front foot so I am trying my best, I am very happy that I finished the game and I will try to maintain that in upcoming games,” he added.

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Gurbaz lauds former Indian cricketer 

Previously, opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz expressed gratitude towards former Indian cricketer Ajay Jadeja for helping the team by being an invaluable asset during the World Cup campaign. 

Jadeja is currently serving as a mentor for the Afghanistan men’s team and his inputs have seemingly helped the subcontinent team take their game a notch above. 

“He (Jadeja) is a man who always gives happiness to you. He’s made cricket easy for us. He always says just go and enjoy. We love him, and he is someone special for us. He tells us to keep things simple, just go and enjoy. That’s the most important tip for us,” said Gurbaz. 

Afghanistan are flying high at the moment, having won three matches in this World Cup. After the euphoric win against Pakistan last week, the subcontinent team backed it up against Sri Lanka by smashing the 1996 World Cup champions with relative ease. 

The win puts Afghanistan in good stead for securing a top-4 place and makes the middle-table logjam all the more interesting. 

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