Noor Ahmad

Noor Ahmad Lakanwal, also known as Noorie, is a teenage sensation for Afghanistan, who is a left-arm unorthodox spin bowler making waves in international cricket. The young prospect, born on the 3rd of January 2005, has already gained valuable experience in various T20 leagues worldwide. At the age of 15, he made his first-class debut in April 2019 for Kabul Region in the 2019 Ahmad Shah Abdali 4-day Tournament and picked up 4 wickets in his account. After a couple of months, he made his way to debut in Twenty20 in October 2019 for Mis Ainak Knights in the 2019 Shpageeza Cricket League. After his consistent performances, he made his List A debate for Amo Region in October 2020 in the 2020 Ghazi Amanullah Khan Regional One Day Tournament. Soon after some months, in December he was signed by Melbourne Renegades for the Big Bash League season of 2020-21 and broke the record for being the youngest player ever to appear in the league when he made his debut against the Hobart Hurricanes. Noor was also added to the Chennai of Indian Premier League 2021 roster in March 2021 as a net bowler. Noor was also picked in the 2021 Pakistan Super League as a player for the Karachi Kings in June of 2021. In just next month, July, Ahmad was named for the first time in the Afghanistan national squad for the ODI series against Pakistan. In December 2021, he was further named in the national team of Afghanistan for the 2022 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup in the West Indies. However, in the same month, he was recruited by Quetta Gladiators in the Pakistan Super League 2022 and made his debut in February 2022 against Islamabad United. He was also bagged by Gujarat in the auction of the 2022 Indian Premier League for INR 30 Lakhs. He even picked up 16 wickets in the 2023 season and helped the team to reach the finals. Then after that in May 2022, his international career took off as Ahmad was included in both the Afghanistan Twenty20 International squad and the Afghanistan One Day International reserve squad for their May 2022 series against Zimbabwe. In a match against Zimbabwe on June 14, 2022, he made his T20I debut. In November, he made his ODI debut against Sri Lanka and went on to showcase his bowling prowess. The coaches and staff were so pleased with his performance that he got selected for the ICC Cricket World Cup in India 2023, where he made his debut against Pakistan in Chennai, and yet set another record for the youngest debutant in the history of the World Cup. With continued development and experience, Noor Ahmad has the potential to become a mainstay in Afghanistan's bowling attack for years to come.