Shapoor Zadran

A tall, aggressive left-arm pacer who can swing the ball both ways, Shapoor Zadran is a professional Afghan cricketer who moved to Pakistan from Afghanistan due to war breaking out in his country and learnt to play cricket in refugee camps. 

Idolising Shoaib Akhtar, he grew up bowling at a rapid pace and made his first-class debut against Zimbabwe XI in 2009, scalping 2 wickets. He was soon fast-tracked into the senior team of Afghanistan, making his ODI debut against the Netherlands in August 2009. He had a memorable outing on his debut as he struck 4 wickets for 24 runs but ended up on the losing side. 

In the 2012 T20 World Cup, Zadran stitched a record 9th wicket partnership with Gulbadin Naib and was the only bowler from Afghanistan to take more than 10 wickets in the 2015 ICC World Cup. After losing form to injuries, he took a much-needed break from cricket in 2018 and made a return to the T20I squad after some impressive performances in domestic cricket.

Having been named in Afghanistan’s T20 World Cup squad in September 2021, Zadran would be looking to provide valuable experience to the young Afghan squad in the coveted tournament.

(As of October 2021)