New Delhi. If any team has surprised the most with their performances so far in the T20 World Cup 2024, it is Afghanistan. The Afghan fighters have won both their matches easily. The Afghanistan cricket team defeated Uganda by 125 runs in their opening match, while in the second match they defeated a strong New Zealand by 84 runs. With this performance, the Afghan team has staked its claim to enter the Super 8 and also served as a warning to experienced teams in future matches. Although this performance was the result of a ‘team effort’, Fazalhaq Farooqui and Rahmanullah Gurbaz were its leaders in the batting. Both are currently the highest run and wicket takers for their country.
Fast bowler Fazalhaq Farooqui has become the center of discussion due to his performance. The 23-year-old’s bowling performance so far in the T20 World Cup 2024 is similar to that of Indian fast bowler Mohammad Shami in the ODI World Cup 2023.
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Highest wicket taken so far, best bowling performance too
Apart from wicket, bowling average, strike rate, Fazalhaq Farooqui is also a top performer in terms of innings performance. The speed of this left-arm fast bowler is not very high but he deceives the batsmen with his variations. West Indies’ slow wicket is also proving suitable for their bowling style. Farooqui has so far taken 9 wickets for just 26 runs in the two matches of this World Cup. During this period, he has taken 4 wickets once and 5 wickets once in an innings. Farooqui currently holds the best bowling analysis of T20 World Cup 2024. On 3 June, he took 5 wickets for just 9 runs in four overs against Uganda at the Providence Stadium in Guyana. This is the fourth best overall performance in the T20 World Cup. Only Sri Lanka’s Ajantha Mendis (6/8,2012), Rangana Herath (5/3,2014) and Pakistan’s Umar Gul (5/6, 2009) are better than Farooqui in this regard. Farooqui was the first bowler to take 5 wickets in an innings in the current World Cup. West Indies’ Aqeel Hussain became the second bowler to take 5 wickets (5/11) in an innings against Uganda on 8 June.
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Also tops in bowling average and strike rate
In this World Cup, Farooqui’s bowling average is 2.88, strike rate 4.88 and economy 3.54. He is currently on top in this tournament in terms of bowling average and strike rate. Farooqui and Aqeel also jointly hold the record for taking wickets at the best strike rate (strike rate 4.80) in an innings. In the match against Uganda where Farooqui took 5 wickets for 9 runs in four overs, Aqeel took 5 wickets for 11 runs in four overs. Farooqui, who took 5 wickets against weak rivals Uganda, also took 4 wickets for 17 runs in the match against New Zealand.
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Shami showed similar brilliance in the World Cup 2023
Farooqui’s performance so far in the current T20 World Cup is similar to that of India’s Mohammad Shami in last year’s ODI World Cup (ICC World Cup 2023). In World Cup 2023, Shami took the highest wickets of 24 at an average of 10.70, an economy of 5.26 and a strike rate of 12.20, including 4 wickets in an innings once and 5 or more wickets in an innings thrice. Not only this, Shami also recorded the best bowling analysis (7/57 vs. New Zealand) in this World Cup. This Indian bowler also had the best average and strike rate among bowlers who took more than 10 wickets.
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Farooqui entered international cricket three years ago
Farooqui, who will make his international debut in 2021, has been amazing in his performance in the second T20 World Cup. In the T20 World Cup 2022 held in Australia, he took 3 wickets in three matches at an average of 25 and an economy of 6.52. So far, he has taken 44 wickets in 32 ODIs at an average of 31.09 and 46 wickets in 36 T20Is at an average of 18.93 and an economy of 6.56. He plays for Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL and has taken 6 wickets in 7 matches of this Indian T20 League so far. Fazalhaq Farooqui’s performance so far in the T20 World Cup has been truly commendable. Their real ‘test’ will be in the later matches of the tournament when Afghanistan will face strong teams. Well, it can be said for sure that Farooqui’s current performance has raised the hopes of becoming a star in the future.
Tags: Afghanistan Cricket, Afghanistan news, ICC T20 World Cup, Mohammed Shami, T20 World Cup
First published: June 11, 2024, 07:31 IST