An allrounder in the truest sense of the word, Nabi is key member of Afghan cricket who has performed a variety of roles for his country since hie debut all the way back in 2009.
Born: January 1, 1985
Role: Right-hand bat, right-arm offspin
Mike Gatting was described as bold, brave and pugnacious, and the player he noticed in 2006 when Afghanistan played the MCC in a tour match in Mumbai displays those similar traits.
Mohammad Nabi top scored for Afghanistan that day with 116, and that eventually led him to play for the MCC, for whom he made his first-class debut.
But that innings tells us something else, that Nabi has been there from the start, striving to achieve ODI and Test status for his national side, the latter of which was confirmed by their inaugural Test against India in June 2018.
Having played in their first ODI against Scotland in April 2009, he became the first Afghanistan player to reach 100 ODI caps last year against Ireland, almost confirming the nation’s meteoric rise up from the ICC World Cricket League Division Five.
He led them to victory over Bangladesh in the 2014 Asia Cup, their first ever win over a Test playing nation, before their first ever World Cup win against Scotland in Dunedin in their debut tournament came a year later.
But so far it is the shortest format that has the all-rounder’s happiest hunting ground.
He was part of the side that beat eventual winners Windies in the 2016 T20 World Cup, and he has played bludgeoning knocks in the latter overs and taken crucial middle-over wickets with his loopy deliveries and quick darts for Leicestershire, the Sunrisers Hyderabad, the Melbourne Renegades and the St Kitts and St Nevis Patriots.
Having been a leading light for his country, expect Nabi to take up that mantle again at the World Cup.
AFGHANISTAN PLAYER PROFILES
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