Birthday special: Mohammad Shahzad – Afghanistan’s pocket dynamite

Afghanistan is a relatively new side in international cricket, but their achievements have taken them ahead of many other associate nations. One of their key players during this journey has been Mohammad Shahzad. The wicketkeeper-batsman has been with the team through thick and thin and has always been a team player. His explosive batting abilities is something which Afghanistan had not seen with any of their batters, before he came through and showed his class.

Shahzad was born on January 31, 1988. He didn’t enter the Afghanistan national team until 2009, a year after the team had begun their rise in international cricket. He soon created an impact with his bat as he was a hard-hitting batsman capable of destroying oppositions. Batting at the top of the order, the wicketkeeper-batsman was one player Afghanistan would look at for good starts. And he would deliver for them most of the time.

He has played 84 ODIs so far and scored 2727 runs at an average of 33.66. His strike rate during all those runs has been 88.89. Along with this, he has scored six ODI centuries, more than any Afghan player. One of his most famous centuries came against India during the Asia Cup 2018. Against the team which eventually went on to win the tournament, Shahzad hit as many as seven sixes during his 124-run knock. He faced just 116 balls during his innings. It was a calm and collective performance where he was picking the ball perfectly and timing them sweetly over the fence of the Dubai International Stadium. The match ended in a tie and he was given the man of the match award.

Apart from that innings, his one of the famous contributions had come during the ICC World Cup qualifier 2018 final against West Indies. Having been set a moderate total of 204, Shahzad batted brilliantly for his knock of 84, which helped his side beat West Indies and lift the trophy. He was also part of the historic XI which played Afghanistan’s first Test against India in 2018.

Mohammad Shahzad smashed the fastest T10 half century and made light work of the run-chase as Rajputs reached the target inside 4 overs against Sindhis. #T10League pic.twitter.com/m82TrV7LhC

— Cricingif (@_cricingif) November 21, 2018

His explosive nature of batting has helped him gain several fans across the globe. Even though he hasn’t featured for Afghanistan since the 2019 Cricket World Cup, he remains a popular name in the T10 league along with T20 franchise cricket. His T20I stats are good as well. He has played 65 T20Is scoring 1936 runs with an average of 31.12 and a strike rate of 135. He was also the first batsman from Afghanistan to score a T20I century.

As he turns 33 on January 31st, 2021, we can all hope for his international return so that we can see more of his explosive batting. At this moment, Shahzad is playing for Deccan Gladiators in the Abu Dhabi T10 League as he awaits a callback from the national side.