Jonathan Trott issues stern warning to South Africa, claims Afghanistan ready to make history in T20 World Cup 2024

Afghanistan Cricket Team head coach Jonathan Trott has sent a fierce warning to India, England, and South Africa before the start of the semifinals of the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup 2024 on Thursday, June 27. Afghanistan will face South Africa in the first T20 World Cup 2024 semifinal at Brian Lara Cricket Stadium in Trinidad & Tobago.

Ahead of the SA vs AFG semifinal, Trott has boldly declared that his Afghanistan team is not just aiming to compete but to beat South Africa and make it to the finals of the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024. Afghanistan made history by defeating Bangladesh in the last Super-8 clash and qualifying for the semifinals of the World Cup for the first time on June 25.

Jonathan Trott issues stern warning to ICC T20 World Cup 2024 semifinalists

The Rashid Khan-led Afghanistan cricket team steered through two challenging groups, facing formidable opponents like India, Australia, New Zealand, and the West Indies in the group stages and super-8 stages, and made it to the semifinals of the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024.

Well, Trott admitted that Afghanistan were not good with the bat during their thrilling victory over Bangladesh, but they will approach the semi-final with a very positive mindset and nothing to lose against the South African cricket team. He also believes that their wins over Australia and New Zealand will boost their confidence for the semifinal against South Africa.

Jonathan Trott said at the pre-match press conference: “We're there to win the semi-final. We've seen we've beaten some major teams. We've won by large margins. We've won by tight margins. We've won in close games. So that's going to serve us well going forward to the semi-final.”

The South African-born Trott revealed that they are focusing on minor improvements rather than major changes for the semifinal clash with the Proteas side. Trott highlighted the need for a mindset shift, stressing they are going into the semifinals without any historical baggage.

This is uncharted territory for us: Jonathan Trott on Afghanistan's first semifinal appearance

The former England cricketer further emphasized that Afghanistan's approach to the semi-final is fresh, as they are playing in the knockouts for the first time, so it makes them a dangerous side with a fearless attitude and no pressure, while there were a lot of expectations from South Africa.

Trott signed off by saying, “I think it's a case of us just looking at what we need to improve on, which is a few little areas. Nothing too major, just tighten up. I think it's just a sort of mindset shift if I like. But I also think, we go into the semi-final with no scarring or no history with regards to semi-finals. This is uncharted territory for us.

We're just going to go out there and give it our all. There's no preconceived ideas on it all, or history of failure or success in semifinals in past years. For us it's a new challenge and I think that makes us dangerous in the semifinals as a side with nothing to lose and obviously a lot of pressure on the opposition.”