ODI World Cup 2023: Afghanistan performance review

Afghanistan. (Photo by Alex Davidson-ICC/ICC via Getty Images)

A fairly young team in the international circuit, Afghanistan had won one match in the ODI World Cups before 2023. Coming to the tournament, they weren’t in the best of shape as the team suffered a humiliating series defeat at the hands of Pakistan and then couldn’t perform as per potential in the Asia Cup. Hence, not a lot was expected from the Hashmatuallah Shahidi-led side this time around.

However, they were sensational, to say the least, and had luck gone in their favour, Afghanistan could have even qualified for the semi-finals of the tournament. Be it the batters or the bowlers, they have shown a lot of character which was impressive and if the team manages to keep up with the momentum, a lot of good thing awaits in the future. Despite being one of the underdogs, Shahidi didn’t change their attacking mindset as at times, the Afghans played four spinners in the middle, which caused a lot of trouble for the batters to score runs.

Players like Rashid Khan and Rahmanullah Gurbaz are already well-known in the cricketing circuit but the ODI World Cup gave birth to new stars in the form of Azmatullah Omarzai, Ibrahim Zadran, and Rahmat Shah among a few others. Omarzai was definitely their star player in the competition while Zadran became the first Afghanistan player to score a century in the World Cup. On the other hand, Rahmat Shah gave much-needed stability in the middle order as the 30-year-old scored 320 runs in nine matches.

The veteran Mohammad Nabi too had a very good time in the middle. The 38-year-old couldn’t contribute much with the bat, but the President, as he is fondly known, was brilliant with the ball. He picked up eight wickets in nine matches at an economy of just 4.13. He along with Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman once again had a terrific campaign.

Good, bad, and not so pretty

Afghanistan have the perfect blend of experience and youth and both these departments did well in the tournament. Players like Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadrann, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, and plenty of others played a significant role in the tournament and are deemed future stars along with Rashid Khan, who’s just 25. They have gained a lot of experience by playing in this mega tournament and it should only grow from here.

However, Afghanistan are probably not ready to part ways with some of the senior cricketers. Naveen-ul-Haq, despite being young announced his retirement from ODI cricket and that’s not a good sign as the team lacks quality pacers. Over the years, Afghanistan have given birth to a lot of spinners but they need more pacers as well to perform better in foreign conditions.

Thus, the team should start building for the future right away. They finished sixth on the points table after winning four out of nine matches. Had they defeated Australia in their second-last game of the campaign, things could have been different and Afghanistan could have created history.

Chasing 292 runs, Australia were 91/7 at one point and were close to an embarrassing defeat. However, Glenn Maxwell played one of the best ODI knocks in history, hitting 201* runs to win it for his team. Afghanistan threw everything they had in the middle but nothing was enough. The players were devastated following the loss and rightly so as the victory and the chance to qualify for the semi-final was up for grabs but the team couldn’t capitalize.

The moments that mattered

Ibrahim Zadran becoming the first Afghan cricket to hit a century in the ODI World Cup was probably their biggest moment in the entire campaign. They required a win against Australia and when all the batters were struggling, Zadran played an impressive knock of 129* runs but Glenn Maxwell in the end ruined everything for Afghanistan.

Another big moment for them in the tournament should be Azmatullah Omarzai’s 97* runs in the final league game against South Africa. None of the batters supported him well in the middle as he proved to be a one-man army. He couldn’t get to three digits that night but the 23-year-old should be proud of the brand of cricket he played against a quality bowling unit.

Remember the Names

Azmatullah Omarzai ended up scoring 353 runs in nine matches and also has seven wickets to his name in the tournament. Being only 23 years old, that is a remarkable achievement as he will now get a lot of opportunities to play in various franchise tournaments, where the cricketer can gain a significant amount of experience. 

Other than him, Ibrahim Zadran did a good job as he ended up finishing as the leading run-scorer of the tournament. The opener had 376 runs in nine matches and supported Rahmanullah Gurbaz well, as the latter had the job of giving a rapid start to the team. He controlled the tempo and delivered well. Consistency is one thing that the 21-year-old needs to work on. 

Future fermentation

It’s the young players in the team who delivered in the tournament. It shows that the team is going in the right direction and the future looks bright. It’s just that the players need to spend more time with each other and play more ODI matches to get used to the format. Unlike other teams, who play a lot of 50-over matches, Afghanistan prefer T20I cricket more. Before the next cycle, they should also focus on this format to get suitable results.

Coming of age

Azmatallah Omarzai, Ibrahim Zadran, and Mujeeb Ur Rahman are deemed for bigger and better things in the future. All three of them had a breakout season and should only improve from here. If they manage to keep up with the momentum, Afghanistan can aim to do well in the Champions Trophy 2025, where the conditions will once again favour them, and then again in the World Cup 2027. However, the team management will play a key role in helping them achieve all the targets. The duo of Jonathan Trott and Ajay Jadeja have done a commendable job in the tournament and should continue to work for the growth of Afghan cricket.