Aftab Alam

Aftab Alam is an outstanding seam-bowler from Afghanistan, A hustling, bustling and energetic seam bowler, Aftab, not the tallest quick bowler around, he can be described as an effort bowler who gets the most out of front-on action. A bit of a character off the field, Aftab is one of the genuine success stories of cricket development in Afghanistan over the last 10-15 years. He represented Afghanistan at the International level on 39 occasions, all in white-ball Cricket.

Aftab made his way through age group teams, from Under-15 level through to the Under-19 ICC World Cup squad in 2010 in New Zealand. A standout at the tournament, he was country’s leading wicket-taker at the tournament with 12 sticks and on his return to Afghanistan, was duly selected to make his ODI debut against Canada at 17.

He was excellent for the U19 side and continued with the Under-19 team for a further two years, with exceptional performances including a spell of 8-12 against Oman in the 2011 ACC U19 Elite Cup. He went to his second ICC U19 World Cup in 2012 and became a more frequent member of the senior national side. Aftab represented Afghanistan in a couple of major tournaments, the World T20 in 2014 and also at the 2019 ICC World Cup, although his tournament finished early for off-field issues which saw him miss a chunk of on-filed game time.

On his return, Aftab got an opportunity to showcase his talent in the franchise world for the Dambulla Vikings during the 2020 Lanka Premier League. He also returned to the Afghanistan training camp during June 2020 and now that normal service has generally resumed in World Cricket, we’ll surely see plenty more of this canny seamer in the years to come.