5 key players for Afghanistan in Afghanistan tour of Ireland 2018

Zimbabwe v Ireland - 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup
Zimbabwe v Ireland - 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup

Ireland will host Afghanistan for a 3-match T20I series commencing next week. This will be followed by a three-game ODI series scheduled to start at 27th August. Both teams will be facing each other for the first time since they have been elevated to test status and will be eager to prove their superiority over one another.

Afghanistan played their inaugural test against India and it must have been a great learning experience for them. Prior to that, they white-washed Bangladeshi team in a three-match T20I series played in India. There is no denying the fact that the team will be riding high on confidence.

The story of Ireland is also somewhat similar. They debuted in international test cricket against Pakistan in May this year. The result was not in their favour but they earned a lot of appreciation for the way they played. After Pakistan enforced the follow-on, their batsmen showed great resilience and avoided an innings defeat.

They also played a two-match T20I series against India in the month of June. They lost the series but there were some positives for the team.

The fight for the trophies between these almost equal-strength teams is surely going to offer a lot of excitement as well as entertainment. Here, in this article, we will take a look at 5 key players for Afghanistan who will be deciding the team's fortune on this tour.


#1 Mohammad Shahzad

Mohammad Shahzad
Mohammad Shahzad

Mohammad Shahzad has established himself as one of the finest stroke-players of the limited overs format in modern cricket. Shahzad has proven his worth time and again with a series of remarkable batting performances. He has a T20I century against his name, a feat achieved by very few batsmen in the world. He adds a lot of firepower to their side, thus helping his team to score a good, competitive total on most occasions. He will also be donning gloves for his team.

If Afghanistan is to win the matches on this tour, then Shahzad will have to lead the show from the front.

Mohammad Shahzad in T20Is:

Matches - 63, Runs - 1906, Avg. - 31.76, SR - 135.17, HS - 118, 100s - 1, 50s - 12

Mohammad Shahzad in ODIs:

Matches - 70, Runs - 2275, Avg. - 33.96, SR - 90.35, HS - 118, 100s - 4, 50s - 12

#2 Rashid Khan

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Rashid Khan is currently ranked as no. 1 bowler in ICC T20I rankings.

Rashid Khan is perhaps the best cricketing talent of his age. He made his international debut at the age of just 17 and has amazed the cricketing fraternity since then. Afghanistan's continuous upward swing in recent years has much to do with his personal success. Not to forget, he is the fastest to take 100 wickets in One-day Internationals. In the shortest form of the game, he becomes even more dangerous as is obvious from his IPL stats. In the last T20I series against Bangladesh, he single-handedly won matches for his team. He was awarded the 'Player of the series' then.

He will be happy to deliver the same kind of performance against the Irish team.

Rashid Khan in T20Is:

Matches - 33, Wickets - 57, Avg. - 13.02, SR - 13.16, , Best Bowling fig. - 5 for 3, 5W - 1

Rashid Khan in ODIs:

Matches - 43, Wickets - 100, Avg. - 14.40, SR - 21.81, , Best Bowling fig. - 7 for 18, 5W - 4

#3 Mohammad Nabi

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Mohammad Nabi

Mohammad Nabi is one of the most senior members of the team. He is an impressive all-rounder and has contributed a lot to Afghanistan cricket's success. He has played the most number of ODI matches for his team and also tops the list of highest run-scorers for them. In T20Is too, he has an experience of 63 matches, joint highest for Afghanistan. He also holds the record of taking the most no. of wickets for his team. These facts are a testimony to the fact that he has been an integral part of the team over the years.

Considering his skills and experience, he will be playing a crucial role for the team on this tour.

Mohammad Nabi in T20Is:

Matches - 63, Runs - 995, Avg. - 20.30, Wickets - 65, Bowling Avg. - 24.20

Mohammad Nabi in ODIs:

Matches - 98, Runs - 2287, Avg. - 29.70,100s/50s - 1/11, Wickets - 103, Bowling Avg. - 31.95

#4 Samiullah Shenwari

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Samiullah Shenwari

Samiullah Shenwari is one of those players who were there since Afghanistan started their international cricket journey. He has been a part of all of Afghanistan's World T20 campaigns and has contributed significantly in all of them. He helped his team in registering their first ODI win over a Test-playing nation when he scored a brilliant 81 against Bangladesh at the Asia Cup in 2014. He also has an impressive record as an all-rounder in limited overs cricket. Apart from being an economical bowler, Shenwari has been very handy with the bat as well.

His capabilities are definitely going to help Afghanistan on this tour.

Samiullah Shenwari in T20Is:

Matches - 57, Runs - 930, Avg. - 21.63, Wickets - 25, Bowling Avg. - 25.72

Samiullah Shenwari in ODIs:

Matches - 78, Runs - 1731, Avg. - 29.84,100s/50s - 0/11, Wickets - 46, Bowling Avg. - 35.28

atches - 62, Runs - 1830, Avg. - 31.02, SR - 134.36, HS - 118, 100s - 1, 50s - 11

atches - 62, Runs - 1830, Avg. - 31.02, SR - 134.36, HS - 118, 100s - 1, 50s - 11

#5 Mujeeb Ur Rahman

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Muzeeb Ur Rahman

Like his teammate Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman too became popular in international cricket at a very young age. Everyone was surprised when KXIP had picked him for a whopping amount of Rs. 4 crores in IPL this year. He was an unknown identity on the world stage till then. However, he proved his worth with some incredible performances. Relatively new to the international cricket, he has played only 15 ODIs and even fewer T20I matches. But make no mistake, he has got a plethora of difficult-to-decipher variations in his gameplay which makes it troublesome for a batsman to face him. With Rashid Khan already in the side, this duo would pose a real threat to the Irish team.

Mujeeb Ur Rahman in T20Is:

Matches - 5, Wickets - 4, Avg. - 26.50, SR - 30.0, , Best Bowling fig. - 2 for 20, 5W - 0

Mujeeb Ur Rahman in ODIs:

Matches - 15, Wickets - 35, Avg. - 16.63, SR - 24.66, , Best Bowling fig. - 5 for 50, 5W - 1

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Edited by Anirban Banerjee