Zahir Khan

Over the years, Afghanistan has produced a fine crop of spinners from their ranks, with the likes of Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan and Mujeeb ur Rahman. It won’t be too long before Zahir Khan is also included in the elite list of spinners to have come from the land of Afghans.

Zahir made a name for himself in his very first List-A season in 2017. In the Ghazi Amanullah Regional One-Day Tournament, Zahir was the joint highest wicket-taker in the tournament, with 12 dismissals to his name. 

A left-arm wrist spinner, Zahir signed with Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Rajasthan Royals for the 2018 season. However, he was ruled out of the tournament due to an injury. 

After recovering from his injury, the Chinaman bowler was named in Afghanistan's U23 squad for the 2018 Emerging Teams Asia Cup.

In the same year, the left-armer was included in the roster for Afghanistan’s inaugural Test match against India but wasn't picked in the playing XI. 

Finally, in 2019, Zahir was included in the squad for an ODI match against Ireland. He impressed everyone with his variations, picking up 2 wickets in the match. But despite his efforts, Zimbabwe won the match by 5 wickets.

He made his Test debut for Afghanistan in their one-off match against Bangladesh in 2019. 

Not only is Zahir a wrist spinner, but a Chinaman as well, a rare commodity in world cricket at the moment. If nurtured properly, Zahir could turn out to be a match-winner for the Afghans in the near future. 

(As of Mar 2021)