Who is Noor Ahmad, the spinner who impressed on his World Cup debut against Pakistan?

Noor Ahmad has impressed the cricket fans with his debut in the ODI World Cup 2023. The 18-year-old claimed 3 wickets in his spell of 10 overs and conceded only 49 runs against Pakistan. The spell of Ahmad was so good that Pakistan batters struggled to score against him. With an improving nature of the wicket, Ahmad bowled really well and contained Pakistan batters.

When Ahmad operated from his end, Pakistan was not in a great position. If not for the Kate flourish from Iftikhar Ahmed and Shadab Khan, Pakistan would not have got to a good total. Ahmad got three of the best batters from Pakistan. The left-arm spinner dismissed Abdullah Shafique, Mohammad Rizwan, and Babar Azam. It was good to see the youngster flourishing at the big stage. 

The spell of Noor was appreciated by many. A lot more is to be witnessed from the youngster, who has a long way to go in his career. Whenever he has got an opportunity, he has grabbed it with both hands. The first of such signs came in the Indian Premier League, where he competed amongst the best players in the world and performed very well for his side, Gujarat Titans. 

Unique skill sets and a fantastic IPL debut 

In 13 matches in the IPL 2023, Noor claimed 16 wickets. In his very first edition in the IPL, Noor averaged 23.1 with the ball and had an economy rate of just 7.82. Noor has not played much in international cricket. The youngster has played 3 ODIs and a T20I match for Afghanistan till now, barring the game against Pakistan in the ODI World Cup 2023. It tells the immense potential Noor has.

Afghanistan is known for producing quality spinners. In the 2000s, Nabi came to the fore. But the transformation started in the mid-2010s when the likes of Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman emerged. Noor is different from all of them and is probably amongst the rarest category of bowlers - A left-arm spinner who could turn the ball either way, which makes him a player to watch out for.