Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar (born 15 July 2007) is an Afghan cricketer, who has represented the national side. He has played for Mis Ainak Knights in the Afghan Shpageeza Cricket League and Rawalpindi Raiders in the Pakistan Junior League, and was selected for the Kolkata Knight Riders in the 2024 Indian Premier League.
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | 15 July 2007 Paktia Province, Afghanistan | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (188 cm) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Batting | Right-handed | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling | Right arm off spin | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Role | Bowler | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National side |
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| ODI debut (cap 59) | 7 March 2024 v Ireland | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last ODI | 12 March 2024 v Ireland | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Domestic team information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022 | Mis Ainak Knights | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022 | Rawalpindi Raiders | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2024 | Kolkata Knight Riders | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: ESPNcricinfo, 18 April 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Personal life
Ghazanfar is from Paktia Province, Afghanistan. He has five older brothers, and as of 2022, he lived in Kabul.[1]
Career
Ghazanfar started playing cricket in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.[2] He began as a fast bowler,[1] and is now an off-spinner who bowls finger spin,[3] after having been taught spin bowling by former Afghanistan captain Dawlat Ahmadzai.[1] His bowling technique has been compared to Afghan international Mujeeb Zadran.[1] Ghazanfar trains at the Mirza Mohammad Katawazai Cricket Centre in Kabul,[4] and has trained with the Afghanistan national under-19 cricket team.[1]
Ghazanfar has played for the Mis Ainak Knights in the Afghan Shpageeza Cricket League.[4] On his debut, he took 1/27 in 4 overs, and he took four wickets in his second appearance.[3]In 2022, he played for Rawalpindi Raiders in the Pakistan Junior League; he was one of 12 overseas players in the competition.[5]He was included in the draft for the 2022–23 Big Bash League season, but was not selected.[1][6] He has been included in the Far Western United team for the inaugural season of the Nepal T20 League.[7] At the age of 15, Ghazanfar was included in the auction for the 2023 Indian Premier League.[4] He was the youngest player entered into that year's auction,[3] and his base price for the auction was ₹20 lakh (US$25,000).[1][3] He went unsold in the auction.[8]
In 2023, Ghazanfar played for Junior Champions (a team of representatives from the Afghanistan under-19 national team) in the Green Afghanistan One Day Cup.[9]
He was part of the 15-man Afghanistan squad for the 2024 Under-19 Cricket World Cup.[10] In the game against New Zealand, he picked up 3 wickets for 29 runs.[11]
Ghazanfar made his debut for the Afghanistan senior team in their series against Ireland, at the age of at the age of 16 years and 236 days.[12]
In March 2024, Ghazanfar was signed by Kolkata Knight Riders to play for them in the 2024 Indian Premier League at a base price of ₹20 lakh (US$25,000), as a replacement for Mujeeb Ur Rahman.[13] A few days beforehand, Mumbai Indians had tried to sign him to be a nets bowler, but he was unable to get a visa to perform that role for them.[2]