At just 18 years old, Allah Ghazanfar is quickly cementing his place as one of Afghanistan’s most promising cricketers. Standing tall at 6-foot-2, the mystery spinner has already drawn comparisons to Rashid Khan and Noor Ahmad. His recent achievements, including a lucrative IPL 2025 deal with the Mumbai Indians, showcase his growing stature in the …
U-19 Asia Cup to T10 League: MI’s recruit Ghazanfar plays 4 matches in 3 days
At just 18 years old, Allah Ghazanfar is quickly cementing his place as one of Afghanistan’s most promising cricketers. Standing tall at 6-foot-2, the mystery spinner has already drawn comparisons to Rashid Khan and Noor Ahmad. His recent achievements, including a lucrative IPL 2025 deal with the Mumbai Indians, showcase his growing stature in the cricketing world.
This week, Ghazanfar demonstrated his remarkable versatility by featuring in two different competitions within 24 hours. On Friday, he represented Afghanistan’s U19 team in the ACC Under-19 Men’s Asia Cup in Dubai, when he delivered an economical spell of 1/25 from his 10 overs, which included a maiden. His efforts helped restrict Bangladesh U19 to 228/9, although Afghanistan eventually fell short by 45 runs.
Allah Ghazanfar turns heads
Barely a day later, Ghazanfar was back in action, this time for Team Abu Dhabi in the T10 League at the Zayed Cricket Stadium. Despite the quick turnaround, he impressed once again, recording figures of 1/10 in two overs as Team Abu Dhabi cruised to an eight-wicket victory over the Northern Warriors.
This seamless transition between formats also showed Ghazanfar’s growing maturity and adaptability. Over the past months, he has emerged as a key player for Afghanistan in various tournaments. His career-best ODI figures of 6/26 against Bangladesh earlier this year grabbed headlines, while his consistency in a series win over South Africa further showcased his potential.
In the ACC Emerging Asia Cup T20 held in Oman last month, Ghazanfar played a pivotal role in Afghanistan A’s historic triumph. His 2/10 in the semi-final against India A proved decisive, helping Afghanistan clinch their maiden title in the tournament.
Who is the mystery spinner?
Mumbai Indians bought Afghanistan spinner Allah Ghazanfar for the Indian Premier League 2025. Kolkata Knight Riders, Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) also fought hard to bag the young mystery spinner, but in the end, MI bagged the tweaker.
Last year, Ghazanfar was a part of the Knight Riders, but did not get to play a single match. This time around, he will be playing under Hardik Pandya’s captaincy. He is only the second specialist spinner in the MI camp after Karn Sharma, who was bought by the five-time champion at his base price of INR 50 lakh.
