NEWS
Follow UsAfghanistan pacer Fazalhaq Farooqi is the leading wicket-taker in the T20 World Cup 2024, with 12 scalps at an economy rate of 3.7 and has struck once every 5.7 deliveries. Seven of those wickets have come in the powerplay as well - the most by any bowler in the phase.
While the Afghanistan head coach Jonathan Trott expressed his pleasure over the pacer's performance, he believes Farooqi can bowl even better with the sort of talent he has.
"He's been really good, I think, when he gets his line and that with the pace and the swing, he's very dangerous, so I still think with the amount of talent, I still think he can even bowl better. I still think there's even better bowling in him. He's that talented," Trott said after Afghanistan's seven-wicket victory over Papua New Guinea (PNG).
"And working with our bowling coach Hamid Hassan and obviously DJ [Dwayne] Bravo for this tournament, we've seen him stand up and have some real match-winning performances or man-of-the-match performances. But a lot of other bowlers have bowled well as well. So, I was pleased with how everybody else supported him today. It's not just about one bowler. And that's exciting going forward for St. Lucia."
For the first time this tournament, Afghanistan openers failed to put up a 100-run stand, and that presented an opportunity for them to test other batters. The team responded as Gulbadin Naib scored an unbeaten 49 off 36 to carry his team home, with Azmatullah Omzrzai and Mohammad Nabi playing useful cameos.
"The openers have played really well, but also, today is a good reminder of just how fickle cricket can be when you just relax a little bit or take - not as focused or doing the basics as much as the pitch or the conditions deserve," Trott said.
"So, I'm happy in a way that they've got some time in the middle and then Gulbadin and Nabi and Azmat will take that confidence going into the next few games. So, it's a sort of catch-22 if you like. You want everybody to be informed going into the later parts of the trip, but you also want everybody to get runs at the same time."
While Afghanistan have won three in a row in the T20 World Cup, Trott believes that it is key not to get carried away.
"It's nice to have won tonight and got qualification as such. To come to a World Cup and win three is a nice feeling, but also the realisation and reality that we haven't won anything yet. We only achieved the group stage and we've got some important cricket matches coming up which we're going to have to play well in," Trott said.
Afghanistan will take on West Indies on June 17 (Monday) in their final group-stage game in St Lucia.
If you’ve not downloaded the Cricket.com app yet, you’re missing out — big time. Play Fantasy on Cricket.com NOW! Download the App here.
