ACB rewards Allah Ghazanfar with Test call-up after white-ball heroics

Afghanistan’s 18-year-old mystery spinner Allah Ghazanfar has been rewarded by the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) for his impressive performance in the recent ODI series against Zimbabwe.

The Afghan side is currently in Zimbabwe for a full-flagged, multi-format series. After whitewashing Zimbabwe in a three-match T20I and three-match ODI series, the Afghanistan cricket team is all set to take on the hosts in a two-match Test series.

The first Test will be played from December 26 at the Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo—the venue will also host the second and final Test between the two teams from January 2, 2025.

Allah Ghazanfar earns maiden Test call-up after stellar ODI series against Zimbabwe

Meanwhile, Allah Ghazanfar, who is yet to make his T20I debut, was the standout performer in the recently concluded three-match ODI series against the Zimbabwe cricket team. The mystery spinner shone bright with the ball and helped Afghanistan to clean sweep the ODI series 2-0 with the first ODI washed out at the Harare Sports Club in Harare.

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Ghazanfar finished the ODI series as the leading wicket-taker with 9 scalps at an amazing average of 5.22 against Zimbabwe. His remarkable ODI display earned him his maiden call-up to the Test squad just a day before the two-match Test series opener against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo.

Now, the young spinner is all set to make his Test debut after taking the cricket world by storm with his brilliant bowling performances in domestic cricket, where he has 29 wickets in 16 T20s and 25 wickets in 15 List-A games.

On December 25, the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) added Allah Ghazanfar to the Test squad for the two-match Test series against Zimbabwe. The ACB said in an official statement: “Squad Update! AM Ghazanfar has been added to Afghanistan's squad for the two-match test series against Zimbabwe, with the first one being scheduled to begin tomorrow in Bulawayo.”

🚨 SQUAD UPDATE! 🚨

AM Ghazanfar has been added to Afghanistan's squad for the two-match test series against Zimbabwe, with the first one being scheduled to begin tomorrow in Bulawayo. 👍#AfghanAtalan | #ZIMvAFG | #GloriousNationVictoriousTeam pic.twitter.com/fR5KRHqeSS

— Afghanistan Cricket Board (@ACBofficials) December 25, 2024

Afghanistan Test squad for Zimbabwe series:

Hashmatullah Shahidi (C), Rahmat Shah (VC), Ikram Alikhail (WK), Afsar Zazai (WK), Riaz Hassan, Sediqullah Atal, Zahir Khan, Zia Ur Rehman Akbar, Zahir Shehzad, Rashid Khan, Abdul Malik, Baheer Shah Mahboob, Ismat Alam, Azmatullah Omarzai, Yamin Ahmadzai, Bashir Ahmad Afghan, Naveed Zadran, Fareed Ahmad Malik, and Allah Ghazanfar.

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Allah Ghazanfar's journey impressive as his bowling

Notably, Allah Ghazanfar has so far represented the Afghan side in 11 ODI matches and taken 21 wickets at an average of 13.57 and an economy rate of 4.05. In November 2024, the Afghan spinner made the headlines after hitting the jackpot in the IPL 2025 Auction, where he was bought by the five-time champions Mumbai Indians for INR 4.8 crore.

Allah began his cricket journey in 2020 despite his father being against this idea. His father believed that academics were more important than sports and it was a waste of time, as cricket was not well understood in their community.

Initially, Allah played as a pacer, but his coach, Roze Khan, saw his potential as a spinner and encouraged him to focus on spin bowling, and he quickly became a skilled spinner, impressing even Afghan cricket stars in his early days.