Afghanistan’s all-rounder, Azmatullah Omarzai, had an impressive 2023 to become one of the world’s leading one-day international players in 2024, thanks to his right-arm pace bowling and multi-facet batting to carry them to a new level. The youngster snatched the attention of various franchises and the T20Is in that season.
But it was the ODIs for the Afghanistan player where he proved to be the most influential. The right-handed batter finished the year as the national side’s second-highest run-getter, after Rahmanullah Gurbaz, and the second-leading wicket-taker, after Allah Ghazanfar, to help them win four of the five ODI series.
Omarzai’s excellence wasn’t enough to earn them the away series victory against Sri Lanka at the start of the year, but he was central to four straight 50-over series victories against Ireland, South Africa, Bangladesh, and Zimbabwe. He has earned a place in the ICC Men’s ODI Team of the year 2024, having cracked the runs at an average of 52.12 and bagging his wickets at less than 21.
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The Afghanistan all-rounder has overall 907 runs in 28 innings at an average of 47.74 and a strike rate of 97.21, with the help of seven half-centuries and the best score of an unbeaten 149 runs. With the ball, he has celebrated 30 scalps in 35 innings at an average of 32.40 and a strike rate of 36.1 with two four-wicket hauls.
Afghanistan’s Azmatullah Omarzai wins the ICC Men’s ODI Cricketer Of The Year 2024 award
The 24-year-old put the layout of his batting brilliance at the start of the previous year, having drilled 149* in a remarkable effort in the defeat against Sri Lanka. The destructive innings of unbeaten 86 runs in just 50 deliveries against the Proteas was another memorable performance, with rapid scoring in the second ODI at Sharjah to win the series.
Whenever Afghanistan needed explosive contribution under pressure, Omarzai stood out on many occasions. There is hardly any better series-defining knock than his, which came against Bangladesh in Sharjah in November. The series was on the line. Azmatullah had already bowled economically before delivering a masterclass of death overs to deny the Tigers a strong finish that they potentially had been looking for.
The right-arm fast bowler cleaned up the set batter, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, among his three late wickets to finish with figures of 4/37 in seven overs as Bangladesh finished with 244/8 in their allotted 50 overs. Afghanistan limped in the first 20 overs, losing three of their top four wickets cheaply.
The right-handed batter won the game and the series as he built upon a century stand with the opening batter, Gurbaz, before accelerating when the opener was dismissed. He also smacked the winning runs with a massive six to end on an unbeaten 70 runs from 77 deliveries, sealing the victory by five wickets and 10 balls to spare.
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It wasn’t a great Test debut for the youngster, who struggled with a duck and only one wicket during the Boxing Day Test against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo. He is currently featuring in the SA20 for the MI Cape Town, where he has gathered only 18 runs in four innings at an average of 4.50, besides pocketing only two wickets.
The Afghanistan all-rounder featured in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for the very first time in 2024 for the Gujarat Titans. He will hope to carry the same form in the 20-over event for the Punjab Kings, who bought him for a price of INR 2.4 crore in the mega auction.