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Afghanistan’s head coach Jonathan Trott had this to say about Rahmanullah Gurbaz after the wicketkeeper-batter clobbered 145 off 125 against Bangladesh in July. The 21-year-old seems to have taken that advice seriously. The way he constructed his innings in the second ODI against Pakistan would have made his coach proud.
When it comes to T20s, the right-handed opener is known for going gung-ho from the word go but has been guilty of doing the same in the 50-over format. However, what we witnessed on Thursday (August 24) in Hambantota, was a knock that you would often associate with a seasoned player.
Gurbaz crafted a run-a-ball 151 against the likes of Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf and Shadab Khan and played the best knock of his career so far. What made this innings even more special is that it came after Afghanistan’s dismal show with the bat in the first ODI, where they were bundled out for just 59 inside 20 overs.
During his stay in the middle, Gurbaz slammed 14 fours and three maximums and became the first wicketkeeper-batter to touch the 150-run mark against Pakistan in ODIs. He also registered the second-highest individual score for Afghanistan, only behind Ibrahim Zadran’s 162 against Sri Lanka in 2022.
That’s not it, Gurbaz and Zadran put on 227 runs for the opening wicket, which is now the second-highest stand for Afghanistan in ODIs, behind the pairs 256 against Bangladesh in July. These numbers were still not enough as Pakistan ended up pulling off a thrilling one-wicket win in the last over and sealed the series.
The result didn’t go in Afghanistan’s favour, but in Gurbaz and Zadran, they now have two batters who can put them in good stead in ODI cricket. Gurbaz paced his innings to perfection on Thursday. He wasn’t too defensive but didn’t take unnecessary risks in the powerplay. He got to his fifty off 72 deliveries and then scored the next 50 runs off as many deliveries. Once he got to the landmark, the young batter exploded and got his remaining 51 runs off just 29 deliveries.
He used pull and sweep shots to his great advantage, smacking 53 runs off 26 deliveries via those shots. Anything short or no pads, Gurbaz pounced at it with both hands. He was particularly brutal against Rauf, smoking him for four boundaries in the 37th over. Gurbaz was also brilliant with his strike rotation, making it a complete knock.
Gurbaz has had quite a start to his ODI career. In 23 innings, the right-hander has scored 948 runs at an average of 43.09 and a strike rate of 86.65, studded with five tons and two fifties. In fact, only Quinton de Kock and Imam-ul-Haq (19 innings each) have taken fewer innings to hit five centuries in this format.
What makes Gurbaz dangerous is the way he operates in the middle overs. Once he survives the powerplay, where he averages 31.25 at a strike rate of 74.7, Gurbaz looks at ease in the middle phase, scoring at an average of 69.13 and a strike rate of 96.01. He doesn’t only find boundaries at regular intervals but also runs those ones and twos.
Gurbaz, who has all shots in the book, is a watch-the-ball-hit-the-ball kind of batter and Trott wants him to continue relying on his hand-eye coordination rather than focusing too much on the technicalities. “I think it was about Gurbaz being as still as possible at release,” said Trott.
“Sometimes he is moving. Sometimes a player as talented as Gurbaz can get wrapped up in technique instead of just watching the ball. It is about making the game as simple as possible with the hand-eye coordination that Gurbaz has. It is about just being simple in the mind, technically as well.”
The Asia Cup is about to begin, while the World Cup isn’t too far either, meaning Afghanistan would need Gurbaz at his best in the coming months. Amongst the top-10 ranked ODI sides, Afghanistan have the second-worst batting average (30.6) and the worst scoring rate (5) since 2022 and that makes Gurbaz’s form even more important.
Gurbaz and Zadran are the only two Afghanistan batters with an average of more than 40 and a strike rate of more than 80 in this period. If we take out these two, the aforementioned average and strike rate would dip even further. Zadran’s role is to bat as long as possible, while Gurbaz is the game-changer.
The wicketkeeper-batter is far from a finished product, but these next three months could graduate him to the next level.
