Javed Ahmadi

An opening batsman who, though attacking, is comparatively steady and provides the batting lineup with balance. Potential future captain.

Born: January 2, 1992

Role: Right-hand bat, right-arm offbreak

Rohit Sharma and Michael Vaughan: two completely different styles of batting, but two players this opening batsman has looked to model his game on.

But unlike the aforementioned duo, Ahmadi’s journey began in the hardships of a Peshawar refugee camp following the civil war in the early 1990s which forced an exodus across the border.

Although his time in Pakistan taught him the tenacity and fighting spirit that he would call upon in his cricketing career, he moved back to Afghanistan in 2006 to pursue his dream of becoming a professional cricketer with the U15 side.

Six years later, Ahmadi would find himself leading his country in the 2012 U19 World Cup, in which he was the leading run-scorer for Afghanistan.

His 285 runs in six matches at a strike rate of over 100 also made him the third highest run getter in the tournament, largely down to the tournament highest score of 134 that he made against Scotland.

A handy off spinner as well, his credentials as captain impressed none other than former Australian quick Geoff Lawson, the Afghanistan U-19 coach at the time, and that relationship has extended with Lawson selecting Ahmadi as one of his 10 ten players to watch at the 2015 World Cup.

However, Ahmadi has not had the greatest preparation for this year’s senior tournament, having played just five matches across all formats in 2018, but the challenge will be to improve on his seven ODI half centuries he has made since his debut against Scotland in Rotterdam in 2010.