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On Wednesday, September 18, Allah Ghazanfar, the Afghanistan spin bowler, picked up three wickets in the first ODI of the three-match series against South Africa at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. The Afghan teenager, playing in his second ODI match of his international career after making his debut earlier this year, took the wickets of middle order batters Kyle Verreynne, Jason Smith, and Wiaan Mulder, to put South Africa firmly on the backfoot.
In his 10-over spell, Allah Ghazanfar registered figures of 3/20, bowling two maiden overs, to help reduce South Africa to a paltry 36/7 at one stage in their innings. His opening bowling partner, Fazalhaq Farooqi, the Afghanistan fast bowler, picked up four wickets in the seven overs bowled during the South African innings, which folded for just 106 runs in 33.3 overs.
Notably, Allah Ghazanfar was the part of the Kolkata Knight Riders setup in the IPL 2024, replacing Mujeeb Ur Rahman, who had gotten himself injured before the start of the tournament. Although the youngster didn’t get to play any matches for KKR in the recently concluded edition of the tournament, he did become an IPL champion nonetheless.
Here is all you need to know about Allah Ghazanfar:
Age: 18
DOB: March 20, 2006
Birthplace: Paktia, Afghanistan
Role: Bowler
Batting Style: Right-handed Bat
Bowling Style: Right-arm Off Spinner
Debut:
ODI debut for Afghanistan against Ireland in Sharjah on March 12, 2024
List A debut for Pamir against Jr Champions in Khost on April 30, 2023
T20 debut for BDD against MAK in Kabul on July 30, 2022
