Gulf Giants name Jonathan Trott as head coach ahead and Shane Bond as bowling coach of the 2026 season of the ILT20.
Gulf Giants appoint Trott as head coach, Bond as bowling coach.
For the forthcoming season, Shane Bond will serve as bowling coach and Jonathan Trott as head coach of the Gulf Giants, an ILT20 team. They take the position of Ottis Gibson and Andy Flower, respectively.
In addition to leading Afghanistan, Trott was the SA20 head coach of the Pretoria Capitals, where he was succeeded by Sourav Ganguly. Bond’s most recent assignments were with the Paarl Royals in SA20 and the Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals in the IPL.
“The Gulf Giants have quickly become one of the ILT20’s most successful teams,” Trott said in a statement. “My goal is to empower players to excel and help shape a championship-winning squad through the first-ever ILT20 auction.”
For the fourth season, which will run from December 2, 2025, to January 4, 2026, the ILT20 auction will take place in Dubai on September 30.
Additionally, the Giants hired Nick Lee as their fitness coach, Jim Troughton as their fielding coach, and Andrew Puttick as their hitting coach.
James Vince, Aayan Khan, Mark Adair, Blessing Muzarabani, and Gerhard Erasmus are currently retained members of their team. Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Moeen Ali, and Azmatullah Omarzai are their recent additions. The Giants had previously placed second from bottom earlier this year, won the first ILT20 tournament in 2023, and lost in Qualifier 2 in 2024.