Published: Feb 20, 2026, 11:20 AM (IST)
Edited: Feb 20, 2026, 12:01 PM (IST)
Afghanistan finished their T20 World Cup 2026 campaign on a high note with an easy win and a heartfelt goodbye to head coach Jonathan Trott.
Afghanistan won their last Group D league game on Thursday in Chennai by 82 runs over Canada. They batted first and produced a strong 200 runs for 4 wickets. Ibrahim Zadran, the opener, hit 95 runs off 56 balls, including 7 fours and 5 sixes. Sediqullah Atal quickly added 44. For Canada, Jaskaran Singh earned 3 for 52.
In response, Canada had a hard time and could only score 118 runs in 20 overs. Mohammad Nabi, a veteran spinner, was the star of the show with 4 for 7. Captain Rashid Khan got 2 for 19, and Mujeeb Ur Rahman helped out with tight bowling.
Afghanistan won two of their four group-stage matches and lost two, completing their campaign on a high note after losing to stronger teams previously.
The match was the end of Jonathan Trott’s successful time as Afghanistan’s head coach, which lasted more than three and a half years. This game was the last one on his contract, and throughout it, he turned the team into a competitive force on the world stage.
During the post-match ceremony, Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan grew very upset as he thought about Trott’s achievements.
Rashid praised his coach by saying, “They have done a lot for Afghanistan cricket.”
He said the journey was great: “The last four or four-and-a-half years with Jonathan Trott have been amazing. He has done a lot for Afghanistan cricket, played a big role in taking the team to this level.”
Rashid added that it was hard to watch Trott leave: “Seeing Trott leave the team like this is a very emotional moment, but that’s life, you can’t stay together forever. We want to wish him the best for the future and hope to meet him again.”
Ibrahim Zadran, the opener, was named Player of the Match for scoring the most runs in a T20 World Cup match for an Afghan batter. He gave the award to his coach, who was leaving, as a sweet gesture.
“I want to dedicate this to coach Jonathan (Trott). He supported me, gave courage to all of us. We achieved things in ICC events with him. This is his last day with us. He taught me a lot. I wish him all the best, we will all miss him a lot,” Zadran said emotionally while handing over the award.
Rashid applauded the team’s overall effort even though they didn’t go any further. “We came fully prepared and played brilliant cricket in the tournament,” he noted.
“In my opinion, the loss against South Africa pushed us backed the most and hurt badly. We knew that to control our fate in the World Cup, we had to win at least one of the first two matches, but tournaments go like this.“
Rashid focused on the positives and said, “Many things were positive for us in this tournament, which we want to carry forward and return stronger in the next ICC event. However, we need improvement in some areas, especially our middle-order batting against big teams and death bowling.“
Afghanistan had several great times during Trott’s time, like making it to the semifinals of the 2024 T20 World Cup. Players’ passionate tributes revealed how much they respected him, even if he left large shoes to fill. Afghanistan is now looking ahead to the next series and expanding on this base.
For all latest updates of T20 World Cup 2026 you can visit: https://www.cricketcountry.com/icc-mens-t20-world-cup-2026/
