5 Afghanistan players who might be picked in the IPL 2020 auction

Afghanistan has seen young talented players coming through their ranks at the highest level. In fact, they have all the tools and ingredients to upset the big opponents in crunch situations of the game. Among all the rising stars in the cricketing globe, young Afghanistan players are performing when it mattered the most and they are certain to attract bidders at the IPL auctions. Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi, Mohammad Shahzad, Mujeeb Ur Rahman are some of the notable cricketers who have proved to be a real case for themselves as viable cricketers. Barring Shahzad, all others featured in the Indian Premier League and played for their respective franchises. Shahzad has played an important role in helping Afghanistan cricket take quick strides at the international level but unfortunately, he was not picked by any franchise in the IPL. Mohammad Nabi and Rashid Khan have been retained by Sunrisers Hyderabad whereas Mujeeb ur Rahman has been retained by Kings XI Punjab franchise. Besides these talents, other young Afghanistan players have put forth their names for the upcoming 2020 IPL Auction to be held in Kolkata on the 19th of December. Let’s take a glimpse of the five Afganistan cricketers who will be picked up in the upcoming auction. 1. Noor Ahmad Noor Ahmad. (Photo Source: Twitter) The uncapped bowler Noor Ahmad announced his arrival by making his first-class debut for Kabul Region in the 2019 Ahmad Shah Abdali four-day Tournament. He picked four wickets in two innings, chipping in with a decent bowling spell of 2/47. The slow left-arm chinaman impressed the selectors in his young age itself as he went on to make Twenty20 debut for Mis Ainak Knights in the 2019 Shpageeza Cricket League. He picked 8 wickets in 7 innings, registering his career-best bowling figures of 3/12. The 14-year-old bowler has set his base price at INR 30 lakhs for the upcoming IPL 2020 auction. 2. Naveen-ul-Haq Naveen-ul-Haq. (Photo Source: Facebook) The right-arm medium-fast pacer Naveen-ul-Haq made his first-class debut for Kabul Region in the 2018 Ahmad Shah Abdali 4-day Tournament. Then he was listed in Nangarhar’s squad in the first edition of the Afghanistan Premier League tournament. Having played four T20Is, he has taken 7 wickets, registering his career-best bowling figures of 3/24. His impressive performances helped him earn a place at Sylhet Thunder in the 2019–20 Bangladesh Premier League. The 20-year-old capped Afghan bowler has set his base price at INR 50 lakhs for the upcoming IPL 2020 auction. 3. Qais Ahmad Qais Ahmad. (Photo Source: Twitter) The 19-year-old Afghan bowler made his T20 debut for Kabul Eagles in the 2017 Shpageeza Cricket League. He made his first-class debut for Speen Ghar Region in the 2018 Ahmad Shah Abdali 4-day Tournament and made an instant impact with the ball where he took ten wickets to his name with subtle bowling variations of good line and length. He was named the man of the match for his performance. He ended up as the leading wicket-taker for Speen Ghar Region in the tournament, accounting for 41 dismissals in eight matches. He was also named in Balkh’s squad in the inaugural edition of the Afghanistan Premier League tournament. He hit the peak performance in the tournament’s final, where he bagged a five-wicket haul and was named the man of the match, with Balkh Legends winning the match by four wickets. Interestingly, he was also the leading wicket-taker for the team during the tournament, with 15 dismissals in 9 matches. He was named in the squad for the Rajshahi Kings team, after the draft for the 2018–19 Bangladesh Premier League. In February 2019, he was roped in by the Hobart Hurricanes for the rest of the 2018-19 Big Bash League season, as a replacement for injured Tymal Mills. He played three matches and has picked seven wickets to his name, registering his best bowling figures of 3/33. The capped international has set his base price at INR 50 lakhs for the upcoming IPL 2020 auction. 4. Zahir Khan Zahir Khan. (Photo by Kai Schwoerer-IDI/IDI via Getty Images ) Zahir Khan was named in Nangarhar’s squad in the inaugural edition of the Afghanistan Premier League tournament. He was also listed in the squad for the Khulna Titans team, after the draft for the 2018–19 Bangladesh Premier League. He was the joint-leading wicket-taker alongside Karim Janat in the 2017 Ghazi Amanullah Khan Regional One Day Tournament, taking 12 wickets. He was drafted in by the Rajasthan Royals in the 2018 IPL auction. The capped bowler has been statistically very good when it comes to the T20 format. He has played 40 matches and has taken 51 wickets, registering his career-best figures of 5/19. The 21-year-old bowler who went unsold in the 2019 auction has set his base price at INR 50 lakhs for the upcoming IPL 2020 auction. 5. Karim Janat Karim Janat. (Photo Source: Twitter) The right-arm medium-fast bowler was the joint-leading wicket-taker alongside Zahir Khan in the 2017 Ghazi Amanullah Khan Regional One Day Tournament, accounting for 12 scalps. The 21-year-old prospect ended up as the leading wicket-taker for Kabul Region in the 2018 Ahmad Shah Abdali 4-day Tournament, with as many as 30 wickets in ten matches. In the wake of good performances, he was named in Kandahar Knights’ squad in the inaugural edition of the Afghanistan Premier League tournament. He played eight matches and picked up twelve wickets at an impressive economy rate of 5.97. The capped all-rounder set his base price at INR 50 lakhs for the upcoming IPL 2020 auction. ~Written by Gurusai

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5 Afghanistan players who might be picked in the IPL 2020 auction

Young Afghanistan players have put forth their names for the upcoming 2020 IPL Auction to be held in Kolkata on the 19th of December.

4. Zahir Khan

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