Noor Ahmad

Noor Ahmad Lakanwal (born 3 January 2005) is an Afghan cricketer.^[1] He made his international debut for the Afghanistan national team in June 2022.^[2]

Early life

Noor Ahmad was born on 3 January 2005 as the youngest of eight children. His family hails from Lakan Spinki Bori village in Khost Province.^[3][4]

Noor began pursuing cricket at a local academy at age 12.^[5]

Career

He made his first-class debut on 29 April 2019, for Kabul Region in the 2019 Ahmad Shah Abdali 4-day Tournament.^[6] He made his Twenty20 debut on 8 October 2019, for Mis Ainak Knights in the 2019 Shpageeza Cricket League.^[7]

In December 2019, he was named in Afghanistan's squad for the 2020 Under-19 Cricket World Cup.^[8] In July 2020, he was named in the St Lucia Zouks squad for the 2020 Caribbean Premier League.^[9][10] He made his List A debut on 14 October 2020, for Mis Ainak Region in the 2020 Ghazi Amanullah Khan Regional One Day Tournament.^[11]

In December 2020, at the age of 15, he was signed by the Melbourne Renegades to play in the 2020–21 Big Bash League season in Australia.^[12] In March 2021, Chennai Super Kings included Noor as a net bowler in their squad for 2021 Indian Premier League.^[13] In June 2021, Noor also played for the Karachi Kings in the 2021 Pakistan Super League.^[14]

In July 2021, Noor was named in Afghanistan's One Day International (ODI) squad for their series against Pakistan.^[15] In December 2021, he was named in Afghanistan's team for the 2022 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup in the West Indies.^[16] Later in the same month, he was signed by the Quetta Gladiators following the players' draft in the Supplementary category for the 2022 Pakistan Super League.^[17] On 12 February 2022, he made his debut for the team, against Islamabad United at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.^[18]

In February 2022, he was bought by the Gujarat Titans in the auction for the 2022 Indian Premier League tournament.^[19]

In November 2024, he was bought by the Chennai Super Kings in the auction for the 2025 Indian Premier League tournament. During his debut on 23 March 2025, he picked 4 wickets for just 18 runs against Mumbai Indians. He finished as the Chennai Super Kings's highest wicket-taker and the second highest in the tournament, with 24 wickets.^[20]

International career

In May 2022, Ahmad was named in Afghanistan's Twenty20 International (T20I) squad for their series against Zimbabwe,^[21] and as a reserve in Afghanistan's One Day International (ODI) squad for the same tour.^[22] He made his T20I debut on 14 June 2022, against Zimbabwe.^[23]

Ahmad made his ODI debut on 30 November 2022, against Sri Lanka. He also made his ODI World Cup debut on 23 October 2023, playing against Pakistan in Chennai.^[24] This marked his World Cup debut at the age of 18, making him the youngest debutant in the tournament.

In May 2024, he was named in Afghanistan’s squad for the 2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup tournament.^[25]

References

1. ^ "Noor Ahmad". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
2. ^ "20 cricketers for the 2020s". The Cricketer Monthly. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
3. ^ Acharya, Shayan (26 April 2023). "Tracing the journey of Noor Ahmad - Afghanistan cricket’s next big thing". Sportstar. Retrieved 23 March 2025.
4. ^ "At 18, Noor Ahmad is living his cricket dream". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 23 March 2025.
5. ^ Kishore, Shashank (September 8, 2025). "'Maybe I have something...' - the phenomenal rise of Noor Ahmad"
6. ^ "13th Match, Ahmad Shah Abdali 4-day Tournament at Kabul, Apr 29 - May 2 2019". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
7. ^ "2nd Match, Shpageeza Cricket League at Kabul, Oct 8 2019". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
8. ^ "Afghanistan U19 squad announced for ICC U19 World Cup". Afghanistan Cricket Board. Archived from the original on 8 December 2019. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
9. ^ "Nabi, Lamichhane, Dunk earn big in CPL 2020 draft". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
10. ^ "Teams Selected for Hero CPL 2020". Cricket West Indies. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
11. ^ "5th Match, Kandahar, Oct 14 2020, Ghazi Amanullah Khan Regional One Day Tournament". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
12. ^ "Noor Ahmad: Meet the 15-year-old signed by Melbourne Renegades for the Big Bash League". BBC Sport. Retrieved 11 December 2020.
13. ^ "IPL 2021: CSK bring in two Afghanistan players as net bowlers". CricketTimes.com. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
14. ^ "16-year-old Noor Ahmad leads Karachi Kings to nail-biting win". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
15. ^ "Fazalhaq Farooqi, Noor Ahmad in Afghanistan squad for their first bilateral ODI series against Pakistan". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
16. ^ "Suliman Safi to lead Afghanistan at the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup". Afghanistan Cricket Board. Archived from the original on 6 December 2021. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
17. ^ "Franchises finalise squad for HBL PSL 2022". Pakistan Cricket Board. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
18. ^ "QG vs IU (N), 18th match, PSL 2022". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
19. ^ "IPL 2022 auction: The list of sold and unsold players". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
20. ^ https://www.iplt20.com/stats/2025
21. ^ "Afghanistan call up Zia-ur-Rehman Akbar for ODIs in Zimbabwe; Gulbadin dropped". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
22. ^ "Zia-ur-Rehman gets maiden call-up in Afghanistan squad for Zimbabwe ODIs". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
23. ^ "3rd T20I, Harare, June 14, 2022, Afghanistan tour of Zimbabwe". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
24. ^ "Who is Noor Ahmad, the Afghanistan Spin Sensation Who Dismissed Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan?". Probatsman.com. 23 October 2023.
25. ^ "Afghanistan’s squad for the ICC Men’s T20I World Cup". ScoreWaves. Retrieved 2024-06-07.