In the final shortlisted 332 candidates from 971, the 14-year-old Noor Ahmad has earned up his place in the IPL 2020 auction which will be held on Thursday (19 December). He is the youngest cricketer to be the part of IPL auction. Well, if he got the chance, he can also become the youngest debutant in the IPL’s upcoming edition
Afghanistan spinner Noor Ahmad is regular in his country’s Under-19 team. He was one of the most successful bowlers in the U-19 Asia Cup, taking eight wickets. The chinaman was also impressive when the Afghanistan under-19 team toured India. He picked up nine wickets in the five-match series. However, the visitors lost that series by a margin of 2-3.
In an interview to MyKhel, Noor informed that he went for Rajasthan Royals’ trials. If the auction goes in his favour, he will be the youngest player in the IPL.
“The trial with the Rajasthan Royals was good. I just enjoyed myself and felt I bowled well,” Noor said.
Noor is excited to play in the cash-rich league. He believes that playing in IPL will give him confidence and experience to play with the skilful and talented players.
“The IPL is the number one league around the world so it is my dream to play IPL along with so many highly-ranked players. The experience would give me lots of confidence, hopefully, going forward.”
Rahul Dravid praised Noor Ahmad
Former Indian cricketer Rahul Dravid, who was the coach of under-19, is also impressed with Noor’s bowling action. The Afghanistan player is delighted to hear the praise from the experienced.
“Rahul Dravid was there and he saw my bowling and he was very impressed, which motivated me a lot. It helps your confidence when a legend like that shows faith in what you do.”