Unbeaten Afghanistan hail Bravo’s advice at T20 World Cup

Afghanistan coach Jonathon Trott and ace seamer Fazalhaq Farooqi have lauded the influence and expertise of bowling consultant Dwayne Bravo, 40, after their historic qualification for the Super Eight phase of the 2024 International Cricket Council (ICC) men’s Twenty/20 World Cup.

Placed alongside co-hosts and two-time T20 World Cup winners West Indies in group C, Afghanistan have been almost flawless in their execution thus far with resounding wins against Uganda, Papua New Guinea (PNG) and New Zealand – one of the tournament’s pre-seeded teams – to seal their spot in the last eight.

After their victory against PNG on June 13, which confirmed their Super 8 spot, Bravo was seen celebrating with the Afghanistan players and other members of the technical staff.

Captained by premier leg-spinner Rashid Khan, the Afghans have been ruthless with the ball, dismissing their opponents for under 100 runs in each match. In Bravo, Afghanistan have the insights of a former West Indies captain and T20 legend who has played over 550 games in the shortest international format and critically featured in the Windies’ run to the 2012 and 2016 T20 World Cup titles.

Bravo has wasted little time in making his presence felt since he was announced as Afghanistan’s bowling consultant on May 21.

“Obviously, Bravo is really well-respected. His work ethic is great, along with the other coaches. His knowledge of the game and the amount of T20 cricket he has played and the number of teams and different conditions he’s played in (are great assets),” Trott said, during the post-game briefing following his team’s seven-wicket win over PNG at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Tarouba on June 13.

“He has the local knowledge of the various grounds we’re going to play in. It’s really good to have him on our side.” Trott, who played over 120 international matches for England, said Bravo’s all-round game has also seen him offering advice to the team’s batting group.

Farooqi has been an absolute revelation for Afghanistan with his devastating left-arm swing bowling in the power play (first six overs) and he’s the leading wicket-taker in the tourney with 12 wickets. He has returned figures of five for nine, four for 17 and three for 16 – bagging Man of the Match awards against Uganda and PNG in the process.

Farooqi said he has benefited from playing franchise cricket with Bravo, and the latter’s wealth of knowledge has now spread to the rest of the Afghan bowling group.

“Bravo is giving us tips on how to bowl at the death and how to bowl in crucial situations,” Farooqi said.

“He’s like a big player. He’s someone who’s a mentor for us.

“He’s an old-ball bowler. Whatever I’m doing with the new ball, that’s my skill...in the death especially, he guides me on how to handle the pressure and how to use the slower ball.”

With Afghanistan set to meet West Indies in a top-of-the-table clash in St Lucia on June 17, both Farooqi and Trott downplayed the favourites tag.

“For us, hearing the (favourite tag) is a great feeling. We don’t want to worry about what people are saying,” Farooqi said.

“We want to worry about our skills and we’re just trying to do our best and play some good cricket. For me, it’s that simple. We’re just targeting one game (at a time).

He said winning the tournament would be a really “special feeling” after Afghanistan went through the rigours of association cricket before getting their opportunity to dance with cricket’s big boys.

The journey of the Afghan team and players has been an inspiring one. From being elected as an affiliate member by the ICC in 2008 and an associate member in 2014, Afghanistan became a full ICC member in 2017.

“Before, it was a little bit pressurised because we thought we couldn’t win the major games. When we won matches in the 2023 ODI World Cup, we found confidence. Now, everyone has belief in their skills and we’re looking forward to winning and fighting in any game.”

In the next two weeks, Afghanistan could achieve so much more. However, Trott wants his team to stay grounded.

“We still have one group game left – an important group game. And that’s going to be a good gauge of where we’re at against a powerful West Indies side who won an incredible game (on Wednesday night) from the position they were.

“It was nice to play and seal qualification. To come to a World Cup and win three games is a good feeling, but the realisation is we haven’t won anything yet.”

Trott says the best is yet to come.

“We’re very talented, and when we play our best cricket we have seen that. I feel we still haven’t played our best game,” Trott said.

“There are still things we need to work on and we’ll be working hard over the next few days to give ourselves the best chance to beat the major teams.”

In the Super Eight phase, the Afghans will definitely be tested as powerhouses Australia and India have already been confirmed as their opponents in group one. Their other Super Eight opponent is likely to be Bangladesh or the Netherlands.

The Windies will play both South Africa and fellow hosts US in the Super Eight, with Scotland and reigning champions England battling for the remaining spot.

Before they plot their routes to the semifinals, Afghanistan and the West Indies will meet at the Daren Sammy Cricket Stadium in St Lucia as they look to lay down another marker and keep their respective winning runs alive.