Noor Ahmad follows leader Rashid Khan, makes a splash in IPL 2023 | Cricket

From the time he became the youngest cricketer at 14 to register for the Indian Premier League (IPL) auction, Noor Ahmad has chased honours in IPL with great focus. With his 4-0-37-3 spell for Gujarat Titans that broke the back of Mumbai Indians’ middle-order on Tuesday at his IPL home Ahmedabad, the Afghanistan left-arm wrist spinner can say he has truly arrived.

If the powerful Cameron Green failed to spot the leg-spinner from his googly, the other big hitter Tim David fell to the natural variation; and a tossed up full toss and Suryakumar Yadav gave him a return catch.

Chasing a target of 208, MI lost the plot as Noor reduced them from 45/3 to 90/6.

Taking the legacy of Rashid Khan, Mohammed Nabi and Mujeeb-ur-Rahman (both belong to the Khost province) forward, Noor is another fine example of Afghanistan producing spinners specialising in T20 cricket.

Even before he put his name up as a prodigal talent, Noor had been called up by Rajasthan Royals for a pre-auction trial following his impressive showing against India U-19 which had Yashasvi Jaiswal and Tilak Verma. Talent scouts weren’t convinced. But it was clear he was sought after once Chennai Super Kings called him to their nets, to help them prepare for IPL 2021.

While he continued to wait, Noor travelled the world playing in Australia’s Big Bash League, Pakistan Super League and the Lanka Premier league.

Finally, in the 2022 auction, GT picked him for ₹30 lakh. Rare as the breed of left-arm wrist spin is, the 18-year-old is being seen as the next big thing after Rashid, who is arguably the best in the business.

THE FIRST STEPS

In a 25-minute documentary by the Afghanistan Cricket Board titled ‘The rise of a prodigy’, the youngest among four brothers and sisters gives a peek into his initiation in cricket.

Taking cameras to the ground where he began, the vast expanse of barren land was nothing like the lush green outfields Noor now gets to play on. His father Mohammed Amir was shown to be embarrassed that he wasn’t initially all that keen to let his son pursue his dream. Noor would convince him he would focus on studies too, remaining a topper all the way upto Grade 10. He can now happily count the big names of world cricket among his early scalps.

“That kid, he just wants to learn and he’s working so hard,” said Rashid, who Noor grew up watching and idolising. “From last year, he has kept asking me questions. At 1am, 2am, he was bowling with me in the gym. He wanted to get better and perform. I am so happy for him that he’s delivering. It’s great news for GT and Afghanistan.”

Vikram Solanki, director of cricket at GT, spoke of the ‘mystery about him’ and why the wrist-spinner was picked.

It was a brave call to play someone with a solitary T20I behind him as the second overseas spinner in the playing eleven when the trade-off could be to pick an overseas quick, always in higher demand in IPL.

With the Afghan spin twins – Rashid the master and Noor the apprentice – having delivered for matches in a row, the defending champions are carving out their own version of middle overs dominance through spin.

“It’s been a year-and-a-half and I can’t pick Noor in the nets. So, I am sure it must be really hard for a new batter from other teams to pick him,” teammate Abhinav Manohar told reporters. “Once he gets enough experience, he will be as good as Rashid Khan.”