Trott hits out at ACB over lack of communication

Jonathan Trott has launched a scathing attack on Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) over its interference in team selection. "The sad thing for me, though, is the fact that I haven't been able to have any input on the squad. I haven't had any communication with the top management (of the ACB) or with the (chief) selector," the head coach of the Afghanistan team said after his side lost the one-off Test to Zimbabwe by an innings and 73 runs in Harare recently.

"I've been trying to get hold of them for the last couple of weeks. And the chairman, I've been trying to get hold of him and I haven't been able to get any input back on the selection, not only for this squad but for the last few squads since the Asia Cup didn't go our way. There has sort of been no communication at all.

"So that's one of those things that I think as a coach, you should have a little bit of idea or a little bit of input. Certainly the playing XI, which for this game again wasn't the case. When you don't have that input, like I have had in other teams and other tournaments, it is really sad," Trott (44) was quoted as saying in Zimbabwe-based Sportscast website.

Among many decisions, Afghanistan decided to rest Rashid Khan for the Test. "It's no coincidence that every time Afghanistan has won a Test match, Rash has been playing. We saw Rashid playing the last time at the end of last year and Afghanistan won that game. You need your best players in a Test match. But I understand the amount of toll on his body because of the lots of cricket he plays.

"We need him to be fresh for the stuff coming up, certainly the T20 World Cup, so for me it's understandable. It gives opportunities to younger players. It's unfortunate they were not able to do it in this game. Hopefully they've learnt from the experience and will come back better players when they get the opportunity again," the South Africa-born former England batter said.

Trott said he is frustrated and not sure about his future with the team. "Well, I don't know, I'd like to open up communication. I've been told my tenure is sort of until the T20 World Cup so that's obviously a couple of more months, then after that look if the job description has changed with regards to being the head coach. So my focus now is solely on gaining a bit of momentum, certainly the upcoming T20 series against Zimbabwe who are going to be tough to beat at home. It's going to be great competition and a great series in the short format so that is exciting for us. That is what we can focus on in the short term and go from there really."

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