Who is Ibrahim Zadran? All you need to know about Afghanistan’s young sensation

Afghanistan have crossed swords with hosts Sri Lanka in the third and final ODI match at the Pallekelle International Cricket Stadium. Opting to bat first, Afghanistan posted a mammoth 313 runs on the board, all thanks to Ibrahim Zadran who blasted a century.

The 20-year-old made his debut for Afghanistan across all the formats in 2019 but was unable to cement his spot in the setup. The young sensation already has 433 runs in eight ODIs, averaging at 61.85 with the willow, and is always on the lookout to convert his fifty-plus scores to a century.

Ibrahim now has three hundreds to his name in his last five outings in the 50-over format. The flamboyant right-hander’s natural position is to open the innings in the batting line-up for the sides he has represented. Despite being raw and having yet to play in the global ICC events, the batter has the consistency that could help him cement his spot in the national setup.

He earned the call-up from Afghanistan national team for the three-match ODI series against the Lankan Lions after the side wanted to experiment with the top order of the batting line-up. Ibrahim has undoubtedly, risen to the occasion for his team with his blistering knocks in the ODIs.

A blockbuster series for Ibrahim Zadran

Right from the very beginning of the series, the opener scored a century (106 runs) that not only powered them to a win but also helped them immensely in earning a spot in the 2023 ODI World Cup. He kept his top form which was seen in the third and final ODI as he scored 162 runs off just 138 balls that propelled the side to score beyond 300 runs in their 50 overs.

Ibrahim completed his century in the 39th over and then smashed 60 runs off his next 38 balls against the Lankan bowling unit. The score of 162 runs helped him break the record of Mohammad Shahzad's unbeaten 131 against Zimbabwe in 2015. He now sits on top of the table with that massive score in the list of highest runs scored by an Afghanistan player in an innings in ODIs. Certainly, the national team will look to use his services in other bilateral series next year.