5 things to know about Mohammad Shahzad

In the last few years, Shahzad has been instrumental in Afghanistan's meteoric rise in cricketThe journey of the Afghanistan cricket team is one that brings hope and joy to every cricket fan, if not every human being. They have risen from the ashes their country has been plunged for the last few decades to become one of the best-performing minnows in the recent past.From being appointed an International Cricket Council (ICC) Affiliate nation in 2001, they have come to feature in the top 10 of the ICC T20I Rankings, only below India and six points above Bangladesh, and also in the top ten of the ODI Rankings.Becoming an Associate Nation in 2013, Afghanistan's meteoric rise is nothing short of being commendable. From losing both their matches in the 2010 World T20, Afghanistan's first major global tournament, they have come a long way to making it to the top ten of limited-overs cricket. From being bundled out for 80 in their group match against the mighty South Africa in the World T20 in 2010, Afghanistan has taken the cricketing world by storm, playing a brand of fearless cricket and being ready to take the opposition on.A perfect embodiment of the fearless cricket that the Afghans play is their wicketkeeper-batsman, Mohammad Shahzad, who has created a name for himself in the last few years. Shahzad is known for his power hitting and is not shy to take on any bowler.Shahzad, who was was born in the Nangarhar Province in Afghanistan, made his debut in international cricket as a 21-year-old at Amstelveen in an ODI match against the Netherlands. Although his career did not start off on a very bright note, in the last few years he has grown into a very threatening batsman at the top of the Afghan batting order.Before 2014, he batted most innings at No.3, but, it did not seem to bring the best out of the 27-year-old batsman. Since the start of 2014, Shahzad has been batting mostly as an opener, and this seems to have worked wonders for the attacking batsman.In ODIs since the start of 2014, in the eight innings that Shahzad has batted at No. 2, he has scored 365 runs at an average of 52.14, scoring his first (and only, so far) ODI hundred. He has a strike rate of 92.18 in ODIs which is a good number considering that he has played 39 matches.However, his T20I record is even better as he averages over 30 in the shortest format, a good figure for any batsman. His strike rate is an excellent 135.98 having played 38 T20I matches.Here we take a look at five things you need to know about Mohammad Shahzad:

#5 Massive fan of MS Dhoni

Shahzad (C) has admitted to being a great fan of MS Dhoni (R)

Both Mohammad Shahzad and Mahendra Singh Dhoni are wicketkeeper-batsmen who can hit the ball quite powerfully to clear the boundary ropes. But, that is not where the similarities end; both their initials and nicknames are the same – MS.

Another similarity between the two is playing the helicopter shot. Not many people have been able to emulate the great Indian captain's trademark shot. During the 2012 World T20 against India, Shahzad made his attempt to play the helicopter shot and hit Zaheer Khan for a boundary.

In 2014, Shahzad was so impressed by Dhoni's mohawk hairstyle in the 2013 Indian Premier League (IPL) that he went and got one for himself.

During his first meeting with Dhoni, in 2010, Shahzad wanted to gift his wrist watch to the Indian captain. “When he met the first time, I spontaneously gifted him my wrist watch, but he turned down my request. When I was being very insistent, he said that he would accept the watch when we meet again,” Shahzad said in an interview.

Shahzad sees Dhoni as an inspiration, both in front of and behind the wickets. This adulation that the Afghan cricketer has for the Indian limited-overs captain has led to him being called MS by his teammates.

“He is a great cricketer, a cool captain and a wonderful person. I always wanted to sit with him, talk to him, discuss cricket. He has talked to me about how to maintain yourself as a cricketer, how to handle the pressure. My helicopter shot is for Dhoni - to acknowledge that I am his big fan.

“I felt so good when he once introduced me to someone as a friend of his. I was flattered. His behaviour and attitude have increased my respect for him,” Shahzad said in an interview with ESPNCricinfo.

#4 First Afghan player to score first-class double century

Shahzad on his way to an unbeaten double century (Image courtesy: ICC)

This record is one of the earliest that Mohammad Shahzad created and made a mark in the ICC 2009/10 Intercontinental Cup – a first-class tournament between Associate Nations – by becoming the first player from Afghanistan to score a double-century in first-class cricket against Canada in Sharjah.

After trailing Canada by 302 at the end of the first innings, Canada batted again and set Afghanistan a mammoth total of 494 runs with just more than a day left. Being bowled out for 264 in the first innings, it seemed like a daunting task for the Afghans.

However, a 22-year-old Shahzad displayed sheer brilliance as he helped Afghanistan chase down the ninth-highest fourth-innings chase in first-class cricket with an unbeaten 214 off 258 balls. He etched his name forever into Afghan cricket record books as he became the first person from his country to score a double century in first-class cricket.

Afghanistan chased down the target with six wickets in hand and topped the Intercontinental Cup table as a result of the excellent victory.

#3 Most T20I runs in 2015

Shahzad had a great year in T20I cricket in 2015

Another record that proves what a good year the Afghanistan opener has had in 2015 is that he was at the top of the list for run-getters in T20Is in the previous calendar year.

Shahzad scored 297 runs in 11 matches at an average of 27. Although his average was not very impressive, a strike rate of 157.22 that he maintained on average speaks about the early impact he creates at the start of the innings for Afghanistan.

South African T20I captain, Faf du Plessis was second in the list with 272 runs to his name in six games. Three Afghanistan batsmen in all make the top ten of the T20I run-getters list in 2015.

The 27-year-old is the first Afghan player to reach 1000 runs in T20I cricket, 1000 runs in first-class cricket and 1000 runs in List A cricket.

Shahzad also shares the highest number of sixes hit in T20Is in 2015 along with the West Indian T20 legend, Chris Gayle. Both hit 15 sixes in 2015. However, it has to be noticed that Shahzad took 11 matches to hit those many sixes while Gayle needed only two matches to hit 15 biggies.

If Shahzad can continue where he left in the series against Zimbabwe at the start of 2016, then Afghanistan's chances of making it to the World T20 from the Qualifiers will be significantly boosted.

#2 Second-highest man-of-the-match awards in T20Is

Shahzad has eight T20I MoTM awards to his name, only behind Shahid Afridi

Mohammad Shahzad has received the man-of-the-match award in T20Is eight times in just 38 matches. Only Shahid Afridi, who has played 89 T20I matches for Pakistan has more than Shahzad. Afridi currently has 10 man-of-the-match awards to his name.

The Afghan batsman is in elite company as Shahzad's figure of eight man-of-the-match awards is shared by players such as Chris Gayle, Shane Watson and Mohammad Hafeez who have played 45, 49 and 70 T20I matches respectively.

This makes the Afghan batsman's achievement much more special, and with the current form that the 27-year-old is enjoying, it could just be a matter of time before he overtakes the legendary Pakistani all-rounder.

Another interesting fact about this number held by Shahzad is that he is the only player from the Associate Nations to feature in the top 20 of the list for most man-of-the-match awards.

#1 Highest unbeaten T20I score in international cricket

Shahzad celebrating after scoring a brilliant century against Zimbabwe (Image courtesy: Ary News)

16 players have scored hundreds in T20Is and eight of those have been unbeaten knocks. Mohammad Shahzad, who scored his first T20I hundred on January 10, 2016, holds the record for having the highest unbeaten knock in T20 Internationals.

Shahzad scored an unbeaten 118 off 67 balls for Afghanistan against Zimbabwe in the second T20I against Zimbabwe in the recently concluded series in the UAE. The previous highest unbeaten T20I score was 117*, scored by South Africa’s Richard Levi against New Zealand in 2012.

The wicketkeeper-batsman reached the three-figure mark in just 52 balls. His innings, that included ten fours and eight sixes, took his team's total to 215/6 in 20 overs which is their highest team total in the shortest format of the game.

Shahzad's 118* is also the fourth-highest individual score in T20Is. The highest score by an Afghan batsman, other than Shahzad, in T20Is was 69 by Usman Ghani.

Shahzad's brilliant century is also the highest ever individual score by a batsman from the Associate Nations, the previous one being 100 scored by Richard Berrington for Scotland against Bangladesh in 2012.