The Breakout Cricketers of 2018

#2 Mujeeb Ur Rahman (Afghanistan)

Mujeeb is one of cricket's premier spinners in the shorter formats

Afghanistan has taken giant strides this year in international cricket ever since qualifying for the 2019 ICC World Cup from a near-impossible scenario. Their biggest find has been Mujeeb Ur Rahman, who has shown tremendous skill and temperament to establish himself as one of the best spinners in the world at a tender age of 17.

Like Shaheen Afridi, Mujeeb also came into prominence in the 2018 U-19 World Cup where Afghanistan shockingly made to the semi-finals. With a sense of mystery around him, Mujeeb was drafted into the senior team for the ICC World Cup qualifiers, providing the youngster with a suitable platform to showcase his skills. Mujeeb was able to overshadow his fellow spinner, Rashid Khan also as he went to become take the highest wickets in the tournament with the off-spinner picking up four wickets including Chris Gayle in the final.

After a fairly good IPL with the Kings XI Punjab alongside his idol, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mujeeb has grown as a bowler with the youngster bowling most of his over in the powerplay itself with the new ball. Despite having a forgetful test debut, Mujeeb has shown enough promise in the shorter formats where he averages below 20 in both formats.

Given the time and opportunity to refine his skills for the longer formats, Mujeeb could be the complete package with even the best batsmen unable to pick him as was the case with Virat Kohli in an IPL match at Bangalore. Currently aged 17, Mujeeb has all the credentials to lead Afghanistan to greater success in international cricket.