The elegant opener from Afghanistan, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, is celebrating his 22nd birthday today. He has been one of the crucial figures in the recent success story of Afghanistan cricket. The Afghans performed exceptionally well in the recently concluded ODI World Cup and Rahmanullah Gurbaz played an instrumental role, at the top of the batting order, in making Afghanistan a formidable side.
The Beginning
Rahmanullah Gurbaz made his international debut in T20 cricket when he played his first match for Afghanistan in 2019. He made his international debut against Zimbabwe at Mirpur in a tri-series. From there Gurbaz cemented his place in the shortest format for Afghanistan. Over the last few years, he has built a reputation of being a hard-hitting opener and is a sought-after commodity in franchise leagues around the world.
Impressive performances in the T20 format helped him earn a place in the ODI squad as well. Gurbaz got the opportunity to make his ODI debut in 2021 against Ireland in Abu Dhabi. The opener has become an integral part of the ODI setup as well. His performances in the ODI World Cup were clear proof of his evolution as a cricketer and how important he is for Afghanistan in this format.
The Overview
Rahmanullah Gurbaz has played 35 matches in ODI cricket for Afghanistan where he has scored 1238 runs at an average of 36.41. The batting average in this format is not a proper reflection of the potential that this youngster has. He has already made 5 centuries in ODI cricket in such a short stint.
The opener has played 43 T20 internationals scoring 1043 runs at an impressive strike rate of 134.58. The experience that he is getting from playing franchise leagues around the world would really help him in putting on performances for Afghanistan in the shortest format on the international stage. In next year’s T20 World Cup, in the West Indies and the USA, a lot will depend on Rahmanullah Gurbaz as he will have the responsibility of laying a foundation for the batting order.
Also read: Cricket saw its darkest day as Phillip Hughes passed away after an on-field incident in 2014