Though they played attractive cricket in parts during the three-match T20I series against India, Afghanistan will not be satisfied with their performances, as they will look to find stability and consistency in the team.
Let us check out the player ratings of the Afghan side:
Batters
Rahmanullah Gurbaz (6/10): Unfortunately for them, Gurbaz mostly failed to do so, scoring only 87 runs at an average of 29 and a strike rate of under 130. He scored just 23 in the first match in Mohali, and 14 in the second game in Indore. The only time Gurbaz looked on song was in the 3rd T20I, where he scored 50 runs.
Ibrahim Zadran (5/10): A very young captain at only 22 years of age, the onus of responsibilities might have taken its natural toll on Ibrahim Zadran, as scored only 83 runs at an average of under 30 and a strike rate of just over 110.
Rahmat Shah (1/10): Rahmat Shah was given only one chance in this series before Afghanistan chose to opt for players who are more suited to the T20 format. The veteran batter scored only 3 runs before getting bowled by Axar Patel in his T20I debut at Mohali.
Najibullah Zadran (3/10): Najibullah Zadran did well in the first game to play an unbeaten innings of 19 runs off 11 balls while coming to bat very late, but never really took off after that.
The second game saw him struggling to score just 23 runs in 21 balls, while in the last match, he was dismissed for 5 runs. The 30-year-old scored only 47 runs at an average of under 15 and a strike rate being slightly over 130.
All-rounders
Azmatullah Omarzai (4/10): After the high bar he set for himself with his superb displays at the 2023 ODI World Cup, Azmatullah Omarzai failed to live up to the expectations in this series. The youngster scored just 31 runs at an average of 10.33, though he also picked up 2 wickets to compensate slightly.
His best performance came in the series opener, where he scored a 22-ball 29 and also got the wicket of Tilak Varma. After scoring only 2 runs in the second game, he got Shivam Dube’s wicket in the third T20I. But this time, he was dismissed for a duck.
Gulbadin Naib was Afghanistan’s highest run-scorer
Gulbadin Naib (9/10): Not many might have expected him to be, but Gulbadin Naib was arguably Afghanistan’s best player in this series. Though known predominantly for his bowling, Naib was his team’s highest run-scorer, scoring 112 runs at a strike rate of nearly 200.
After not getting a chance to bat in the first match, Naib played at number three in the second game and scored 57 runs in 35 deliveries. His best performance came in the dead-rubber encounter, where he scored 55 runs in only 23 balls.
Mohammad Nabi (7/10): Another vastly experienced player, Mohammad Nabi also did well with the bat in this series. The 39-year-old scored 90 runs in 3 matches at a strike rate of nearly 150.
Nabi’s best performance came in the first match, where he scored 42 runs in only 27 deliveries to help his team score 150+ runs. After getting out for just 14 runs in the second match, he played a 16-ball innings, scoring 34 runs in the last game.
Karim Janat (4.5/10): Karim Janat could not do much with the bat but did pick up two wickets at an average of 33.50. After scoring an unbeaten 9 in the first game, Janat scored a 10-ball 20 in the second game, while also picking up the wickets of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Jitesh Sharma. In the last game, he scored just 2 runs and also conceded 54 runs.
Sharafuddin Ashraf (1.5/10): Sharafuddin Ashraf rarely gets opportunities for Afghanistan, but he was given a chance in the last game. With the ball, he conceded 25 runs in 2 overs and did not pick up any wickets. Then coming out to bat very late, he scored 5 runs in 2 balls.
Bowlers
Fazalhaq Farooqi (6/10): Farooqi could not deliver to his standards in this tour, picking up just one wicket in two matches. Although, conceding only 8.10 runs per over, he was among Afghanistan’s most economical bowlers.
After going wicketless in the first match, Farooqi bowled well in the second game, conceding 28 runs in 3.4 overs and picking up the wicket of Rohit Sharma. Strangely, he was dropped after that performance.
Naveen-ul-Haq (2/10): Naveen-ul-Haq was hugely disappointing for Afghanistan, as he picked up just one wicket and leaked almost 12 runs per over. In the first match, he was tonked all over the park as the pacer conceded 43 runs in only 21 balls.
Although he did pick up the big wicket of Virat Kohli in the second match, Naveen was expensive once again, conceding 33 runs in three overs.
Mujeeb Ur Rahman (5/10): Mujeeb Ur Rahman got only a couple of scalps in as many matches but he was economical, conceding less than 9 runs per over. Mujeeb was at his best in the first T20I, where he picked up the wickets of Shubman Gill and Jitesh while conceding only 21 runs in four overs. But in the second game, he conceded 32 runs in two overs.
Fareed Ahmad picked up 3 wickets in the last T20I
Fareed Ahmad (8/10): Although it is the likes of Fazalhaq Farooqi and Naveen-ul-Haq who play in the IPL, Fareed Ahmad was Afghanistan’s best pacer by a country mile in this series. He was given a chance in only the last match, where he conceded only 20 runs in four overs and got the important wickets of Jaiswal, Dube, and Sanju Samson.
Noor Ahmad (2/10): Many were surprised when Afghanistan did not field Noor Ahmad in the first T20I, considering his IPL experience, but the left-arm spinner could not make the chance count in the second T20I. He conceded 35 runs in three overs with no wickets to his name and was hence dropped from the team once again.
Qais Ahmad (4.5/10): The young leggie from Nangarhar, leg-spinner Qais Ahmad played in only the third match in Bengaluru, where he did well. Although he could not pick up any wickets, Qais conceded only 28 runs in four overs on a track that offered nothing to the spinners.
Mohammad Saleem (1/10): 21-year-old pacer Mohammad Saleem was handed his debut cap in the dead-rubber encounter. Besides the fact that it was his first taste of international cricket, Saleem will not want to remember this match as he conceded 43 runs in three overs with no wickets.