Omarzai was a part of the Gujarat Titans (GT) setup last year, and fills a key role in the current Afghan ODI setup. He is a pace bowling all-rounder, who could arguably slot into the side in either specialist roles on any given day.
Born in Kunar, Afghanistan, Omarzai debuted in ODIs for the national team in 2021 against Ireland. He played List A cricket for the Mis Ainak Region, which also hosts Ibrahim Zadran, who scored 177 against England.
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Omarzai has played franchise cricket all across Asia, playing for several sides such as Peshawar Zalmi, Rangpur Riders, and Jaffna Kings, in addition to Titans. The player has proven his skills in all departments, getting adjudged the ICC Men’s ODI Cricketer of the Year in 2024.
Omarzai has played 38 ODIs and 47 T20Is for Afghanistan. In 50-overs cricket, he has aggregated 966 runs at an average and strike rate of 47 and 97.47 respectively, in addition to scoring seven half-centuries and a solitary ton. His bowling has been equally impressive, taking 36 wickets at an economy rate of 5.44 and an average nearing 30.
There were several remarkable aspects about his performance with the ball in his five-wicket haul against England. Dealing with dew, Omarzai took the key wickets of Phil Salt, Joe Root, Jos Buttler, Jamie Overton, and Adil Rashid.
He had specific game plans for every batter, maintaining impeccable control over the seam position. Towards the end, he spotted the English tail using their long handle well, and hence did not serve them full length slower balls, which has become the go-to template in the death in this tournament.
Omarzai was consistent in bowling wide, slower bouncers, compelling batters to hit him towards the longer boundary on the leg side.
Overall, Omarzai has shown great potential in his brief career so far. Afghanistan’s progress so far had been stunted by their lack of ability to hold composure under pressure. Omarzai’s presence of mind in the death signified that they have put those problems behind them, turning a new leaf in the continuous progress they have demonstrated off late.
