On Monday, January 27, Azmatullah Omarzai made history as the first-ever Afghan cricketer to win the ICC Men’s ODI Cricketer of the Year award. The 24-year-old all-rounder notched up 417 runs in 14 ODIs for the Hashmatullah Shahidi-led side in 2024, including one hundred and three fifties. On top of that, he also took out 17 batters. His best bowling figures came against Zimbabwe at Harare Sports Club on December 17, 2024, where he took 4/18 in 4.2 overs.
Although individual excellence could not earn Afghanistan the series win that eluded them in Sri Lanka at the start of the year, this cricketer would matter to four consecutive one-day international series wins for Afghanistan, against Ireland, South Africa, Bangladesh, and Zimbabwe.
All-rounder from Afghanistan really stood out for most of the year, averaging 52.12 with the bat and taking wickets at 20.47.
He was outstanding, beginning with his very first ODI for the year, which saw a heroic 149* in a rearguard stand against Sri Lanka that ended up in a defeat.
And one other was his aggressive 86*, faced with just 50 deliveries against South Africa, his instant burst of runs contributing to a thunderous win in the second ODI to clinch the series.
Asmatullah rose to prominence when the Afghan tigers needed the most ,there are not many players with such an exceptional performance as Azmat who played an important role in the third ODI against Bangladesh in November .
Azmatullah ran in with an economical stride and obliged with a masterclass in the death overs that came as a foil to the Tigers’ hopes of finishing strong. In his last spell, he got a clean bowled Mehidy Hasan Miraz and went on to take three other wickets in finishing at 4/37 from seven.
With 245 to make out for winning the game and series, Afghanistan induced painful experiences in the first 20 overs, losing three of their top four cheaply before Azmatullah took the stage with that big wooden stick.
To achieve the win and consequently the series, the right-hander added a century partnership with Rahman Gurbaz and then accelerated in the latter’s dismissal and particularly when he hit his explosive, unbeaten 70 of 77 balls to see the team home, and finish with a six with ten deliveries remaining in the contest.
