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 Thursday, 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 Thursday.
“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 wor
