Image Credits- Getty
Less than 72 hours after achieving the most illustrious
victory in the nation’s sporting history by defeating England in Delhi on
Sunday night, Afghanistan will play New Zealand in Chennai. But Jonathan Trott,
their coach, gave his team a straightforward directive: “It’s important
that you celebrate your victories.”
Afghanistan’s goal in this competition was to go to
the semifinals, despite the fact that they had only won one of their previous
17 World Cup games before their 69-run triumph over the defending champions. As
a result, Trott acknowledged that when they move south, he must watch out for
complacency.
And yet, drawing on the experience of his own playing
career, Trott said that it was only right that his players should bask in their
success. “I’m very keen not to put a dampener on things or tell them to
focus on the next game,” Trott said. “I know from my career and my
experience, I never soaked up enough, or enjoyed moments [like these].
“I’m certainly going to say to the guys, ‘enjoy
tonight, spend some time together, whatever you want to do.’ As soon as we land
in Chennai, in 12-18 hours’ time, we switch on for the next game and it’s back
to business. It’s important you celebrate your victories, because they’re so
hard and they’re always such a challenge.
“We’ve got to move on quite quickly… but I think
it’s important that the guys enjoy it. But also, [that they] take stock and
realise when they get a certain amount of things right in the 50 overs or the
100 overs, what they can achieve and the level of teams that they can put under
pressure and compete with and win cricket matches.”