Mujeeb ur Rahman, formerly Mujeeb Zadran, is one of Afghanistan’s top spinners, along with Rashid Khan. When he made his debut in December of last year, he became the first male born in the twenty-first century to play international cricket. He was also the youngest cricketer to take a five-wicket haul in one-day internationals.
Career
Domestic Career
On the 10th of August, Mujeeb made his List A debut for Speen Ghar Region in the 2017 Ghazi Amanullah Khan Regional One Day Tournament. He has since played a number of T20 teams all around the world.
Mujeeb was part of an Afghan Under-19 team that thrashed Bangladesh 3-1 in their own backyard. Mujeeb, who had eight wickets in the first three games of the series, nearly doubled his haul during a nine-over stretch in which he took 7 for 19, the joint second-best bowling figures in all Youth ODIs. This result was also more impressive because it assisted Afghanistan in defending 133 people.Mujeeb ended the series with 17 wickets, the most by a bowler in a bilateral Youth ODI series. Hampshire County Cricket Club signed him in May 2018 to appear in the 2018 t20 Blast tournament in England. He was selected to Nangarhar’s squad for the first edition of the Afghanistan Premier League tournament in September 2018. With twelve dismissals in nine matches, he was the tournament’s joint-leading wicket-taker for the Nangarhar Leopards.
IPL Career
When he played for the Kings XI Punjab in the Indian Premier League in 2018, he became the league’s youngest player. He was one of their best bowlers this year, and his performance in the first half of the tournament was crucial to their success. Unfortunately, he suffered an injury at the end of the tournament and was forced to compete in KXIP’s final match. He featured in 11 games and claimed 14 wickets at a 6.99 economy pace. Fans recall his delivery to dismiss Virat Kohli early in the tournament as one of the most mystical deliveries of the IPL season.Despite having a forgettable 2019 season, in which he only took three wickets in five games, he was retained by the team for the 2020 season.
International Career
After making his ODI debut against Ireland a year earlier in 2017, he played a key role in Afghanistan’s performance at the ICC World Cup Qualifying tournament in 2018. In the final against the West Indies, he took four wickets, which helped them win the match.
Along with Rashid Khan and Zahir Khan, Afghanistan’s other spinners, he has built a formidable partnership. Mujeeb took his first ODI five-wicket haul against Zimbabwe on February 16, 2018 in Sharjah. He was named man of the match since being the youngest player in ODI history to take a five-wicket haul.
Mujeeb was included in Afghanistan’s squad to face India in the country’s first-ever Test match, which took place in Bengaluru from June 14 to 18, 2018, and it was his only Test appearance to date.
Background
Mujeeb is the nephew of Noor Ali Zadran, a well-known Afghan cricketer. He lost his father when he was just three months old. His coach translates for him in the ‘Pashto’ language.