Rahmanullah Gurbaz

Born on November 28, 2001, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Rahmanullah Gurbaz is an opening wicketkeeper-batter who plays for the Afghanistan cricket team at the international level. He is a right-handed bat and spearheads the Afghan batting line-up's attacking style of play.

Gurbaz has taken over the reigns of veteran Afghanistani wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Shahzad, both in terms of the role as well as the style of play he follows.

Rahmanullah Gurbaz - Along the Years

Rahmanullah Gurbaz Records

• Leading run-scorer in the ACC Under-19 Asia Cup 2018 (117)

• First Afghanistani to score a century on ODI debut

• Fastest Afghanistani batter to score 1,000 ODI runs (19 innings)

• Joint-third fastest batter to score 5 centuries in ODIs (19 innings)

• First Afghanistan batter to score a half-century in IPL

• First wicketkeeper-batter to score 150 or more against Pakistan in an ODI

• Highest individual score by an Afghanistani against Pakistan in ODIs (151)

• First Afghanistani to score a century against Pakistan in ODIs

• Third Afghanistani to score a T20I century

Rahmanullah Gurbaz Career

Rahmanullah Gurbaz has had a stellar start to his professional career at such a young age. With match-winning ability and wicket-keeping skills, he is a bright prospect for whichever team he represents.

Rahmanullah Gurbaz Domestic Career

Rahmanullah Gurbaz made his List-A debut for Afghanistan A against Zimbabwe A on January 27, 2017 in Harare, Zimbabwe. Although he kept the wickets, he did not get an opportunity to bat. Gurbaz made his First-Class debut for Mis Ainak Region in the Ahmad Shah Abdali tournament in 2018. He scored 14 off 46 balls and the match ended in a draw.

Rahmanullah Gurbaz IPL Career

Rahmanullah Gurbaz came into the IPL fray as a replacement for Jason Roy to represent the Gujarat Titans. However, he did not get to play for the Titans in what turned out to be a title-winning campaign in their debut season.

Before the IPL 2023 auction, Gurbaz was traded to the Kolkata Knight Riders and he made his IPL debut against the Punjab Kings in IPL 2023 as he donned the gloves for the Knight Riders. He became the first Afghanistani batter to score a half-century in the IPL as he scored 57 off 44 balls against the Royal Challengers Bangalore. The wicketkeeper-batter scored his career-best score against his former side Gujarat Titans as he smashed 81 off just 39 balls at an explosive strike rate of 207.69, although his knock went in vain as the Titans cruised to victory by 7 wickets.

Rahmanullah Gurbaz International Career

Rahmanullah Gurbaz has become a vital cog in Afghanistan’s top order within a short span of his young career and will be looking to make it big for his nation.

Rahmanullah Gurbaz ODI Career

Rahmanullah Gurbaz made his ODI debut against Ireland in Abu Dhabi on January 21, 2021. He immediately set the stage on fire as he became the first Afghanistan batter to register a century on his ODI debut and was adjudged the ‘Player of the Match’ for scoring a run-a-ball 127 and effecting 2 stumpings.

Gurbaz was drafted into the 15-member squad for the ACC Asia Cup 2023 in Sri Lanka and the ICC Cricket World Cup held in India. He was pivotal in Afghanistan upsetting few big teams in the league stage of the Cricket World Cup and scored a total of 280 runs in 9 innings at an average of 31.11, including a highest score of 80 off just 57 balls against the defending champions England, which was cheekily termed as ‘GurBazBall’ by fans and a breezy 65 off 53 balls against neighbors Pakistan.

As of May 2024, Gurbaz has amassed 1467 runs in 40 matches at a healthy average of 37.61. He has scored 5 half-centuries and 6 centuries, including a record-breaking career-best of 151 against Pakistan.

Rahmanullah Gurbaz Test Career

Rahmanullah Gurbaz has been an asset for the Afghanistani white-ball set-up and has played only a solitary Test in his international career. He made his Test debut in the one-off Test against Ireland held in Abu Dhabi in early 2024 and scored 51 runs in the match.

Rahmanullah Gurbaz T20I Career

Rahmanullah Gurbaz made his international debut in a T20I against Zimbabwe in a tri-series in Mirpur on September 14, 2019. He impressed with a quickfire knock of 43 off just 24 balls and aided in Afghanistan winning by a solid margin of 28 runs.

Gurbaz was selected for the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 held in the United Arab Emirates but did not have a great outing with the bat. He featured in the ACC Asia Cup 2022, wherein he was the second-highest run-scorer for Afghanistan. He scored 152 runs in 5 innings, including 84 runs off 45 balls against Sri Lanka, where he was adjudged the ‘Player of the Match’ despite scoring in a losing cause.

Gurbaz was selected for the ICC T20 World Cup 2022 held in Australia but once again could not create an impact with the bat as Afghanistan crashed out of the group stage. The 22-year-old has been included in Afghanistan’s provisional squad as a wicketkeeper-batter for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2024 and will be looking to make a mark in the mega event.

Gurbaz’s only T20I century came against the United Arab Emirates in December 2023, when he smashed 100 off just 52 deliveries and helped Afghanistan win by a comprehensive margin of 72 runs.

Rahmanullah Gurbaz Under-19 Career

Rahmanullah Gurbaz featured in the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup 2018 and was the leading run-scorer for Afghanistan in the ACC Under-19 Asia Cup 2018, amassing 117 runs in 4 matches.

Rahmanullah Gurbaz’s Family

Rahmanullah Gurbaz’s father is a retired school principal while his mother is a homemaker. He has a brother named Afsar Ali Saadat.