Najibullah Zadran (Pashto: نجیب الله ځدراڼ; born 28 February 1993) is an Afghan cricketer and the vice captain of the Afghanistan Twenty20 International (T20I) side. Zadran is a left-handed batsman who bowls right-arm off breaks. He made his international debut in July 2012.[1]
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | 28 February 1993 Kabul, Afghanistan | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Batting | Left-handed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling | Right-arm off break | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Role | Middle-order batter | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National side |
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| ODI debut (cap 27) | 5 July 2012 v Ireland | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last ODI | 11 October 2023 v India | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ODI shirt no. | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| T20I debut (cap 21) | 19 September 2012 v India | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last T20I | 27 March 2023 v Pakistan | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| T20I shirt no. | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Domestic team information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2017 | Band-e-Amir Region | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2017–2018/19 | Chittagong Vikings | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2018 | Montreal Tigers | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2018 | Kandahar | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2019–20 | Khulna Tigers | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2020 | St Lucia Zouks (squad no. 10) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021 | Dambulla Giants | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021 | Karachi Kings | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022 | Barbados Royals | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022 | Minister Dhaka | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022 | Kandy Falcons | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2023 | Quetta Gladiators | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: Cricinfo, 7 June 2023 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Career
T20 franchise career
On 3 June 2018, Zadran was selected to play for the Montreal Tigers in the players' draft for the inaugural edition of the Global T20 Canada tournament.[2][3] In September 2018, he was named in Kandahar's squad in the first edition of the Afghanistan Premier League tournament.[4] The following month, he was named in the squad for the Chittagong Vikings team, following the draft for the 2018–19 Bangladesh Premier League.[5]
In June 2019, Zadran was selected to play for the Winnipeg Hawks franchise team in the 2019 Global T20 Canada tournament.[6] In November 2019, he was selected to play for the Khulna Tigers in the 2019–20 Bangladesh Premier League.[7] In August 2020, he was named in the St Lucia Zouks squad for the 2020 Caribbean Premier League, replaced Colin Ingram who missing out the competition due to visa limitations.[8]
Zadran was signed by Karachi Kings to play in the rescheduled matches in the 2021 Pakistan Super League.[9] In November 2021, he was selected to play for the Dambulla Giants following the players' draft for the 2021 Lanka Premier League.[10]
International career
Zadran represented Afghanistan Under-19s in the 2011 Under-19 World Cup Qualifier in Ireland.[11] Zadran made his Twenty20 debut for the Afghan Cheetahs in the Faysal Bank Twenty-20 Cup against Rawalpindi Rams. He made two further appearances in that competition against Faisalabad Wolves and Multan Tigers.[12] He scored 58 runs in this three appearances, at an average of 29.00, with a high score of 51 not out.[13] This score came against Rawalpindi Rams, in a match in which he also claimed his maiden wicket when he dismissed Sohail Tanvir.[14]
In December 2018, Zadran was named the captain of Afghanistan's under-23 team for the 2018 ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup.[15] In March 2019, in the third ODI against Ireland, he scored his first ODI century.[16]
Zadran was a member of Afghanistan's 15-man squad for the 2019 Cricket World Cup.[17][18] In July 2021, Zadran was made vice-captain of the Afghanistan T20I team.[19] In September 2021, he was named in Afghanistan's squad for the 2021 ICC Men's T20 World Cup.[20]