The 25-year-old from Afghanistan has a rich resume in white-ball cricket.
March 1, 2014: A day which gave Afghanistan cricket fans a lot of joy. A team that was facing Bangladesh for the very first time in ODIs, managed to beat the Tigers by 32 runs. Asghar Afghan was the hero with the bat, while skipper Mohammad Nabi shone with the ball.
As the action unfolded, a father, watching the game with his 14-year-old son in the Nangarhar province in Afghanistan happened to ask the latter his ambitions. ‘To be a cricketer’ was the answer without hesitation. Safe to say, he became one. And he hasn’t stopped there. At just 25, Azmatullah Omarzai, on the back of his performances, is being hailed as the potential best all-rounder in ODIs at the moment.
As a kid, Omarzai played cricket on the streets of his province. But there were security issues due to which a lot of restrictions were in place. As a result, movement outside the house was restricted for him and his cousins post the sunset everyday.
With just 41 matches under his belt in the 50-over format, Azmatullah Omarzai has established himself as an all-rounder in white-ball cricket. His hard hitting, coupled with the bowling prowess makes him stand out against all odds.
If we take a recent example of the two ODIs played in the ongoing series between Bangladesh and Afghanistan, the all-rounder has left clear imprints of his class in both the games. In the first ODI on October 8, the 25-year-old shone in both departments equally. He picked three wickets for 40 runs in nine overs. To add to that, he scored a gritty 40 to help Afghanistan over the line.
Though he failed to impress with the bat in the 2nd ODI, Omarzai was once again the star with the ball in hand. He picked up three wickets, conceding just 27 runs in his seven overs. To add to that, Omarzai has shown superb skills with the new ball in hand as well. All three wickets were well earned, and he sent shockwaves in the Bangladesh dugout right from the first over.
However, Azmatullah Omarzai’s case was a bit different than the other all-rounders in the game. The Afghan all-rounder had a stronger footing for batting in his initial days. But over a period of time, he worked hard on his bowling (mainly pace), which added more zip into his bowling.
A sign of a great all-rounder is the ability to contribute when the team is in a dire situation. And Omarzai has been doing exactly that. His unbeaten knock of 149 against Sri Lanka came at a time when the team was in trouble. Being reduced to 19/3, chasing 382 would be the last thing on their mind. Though they lost the match by 42 runs, Omarzai’s 149* gave them hope.
Following a fantastic ICC Champions Trophy 2025 campaign, Omarzai climbed up the ICC Men’s ODI rankings for all-rounders, taking the top spot by dethroning teammate Mohammad Nabi. Though Afghanistan couldn’t make it to the semi-final of the coveted tournament earlier this year, Azmatullah Omarzai had a brilliant tournament.
Omarzai scored 146 runs in three games with an average of 42 and a strike-rate of just above the 100-mark. Moreover, he also scalped seven wickets in three games, including a five-wicket haul against England to end with figures of 5/58. What was also pleasing to see was his ability to take the team through tricky times batting with the lower-middle order.
Though he has lost the spot to Zimbabwe all-rounder Sikandar Raza (as on October 13, 2025), Omarzai still sits second in the list with impressive performances. To add to that, the 25-year-old all-rounder was also recognised as the ICC Men’s ODI Cricketer of the Year in 2024. With this, he became the first player from Afghanistan to hold the honour.
Omarzai has scored 1,073 runs in the ODI format so far, with a solitary hundred and eight fifties. An average of 44.70 and a strike-rate of 97.45 puts him in good stead. In as many games in terms of bowling, he has picked 43 wickets at an average of 27.41. His economy is under six as well, which is impressive for someone who takes the new ball.
To put things in perspective, since 2024, Omarzai is averaging 44.84 with the bat in hand and striking at 103.55. To add to that, he has become more potent with the ball, with an average of 18.5 for his 30 wickets. His economy speaks a lot about his control and ability with the new ball. The fact that he can swing the ball both ways also works in his favour.
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At the end of just 41 matches, it is really difficult to say or compare Omarzai with the greatest all-rounders in history. Jacques Kallis, who is one of the greatest all-rounders ended his ODI career with a batting average of 44.36, while his bowling average was placed at 31.79. But the catch is that Kallis played the game for 19 years, and was instrumental for South Africa.
While Azmatullah Omarzai has ticked the second box of being instrumental for Afghanistan with his performances, he will have to be consistent with his skills over a period of time to enter the league of greats. It is a known fact that many great all-rounders have not posted numbers as good as Omarzai at an early stage of their career. So the youngster from Afghanistan does have an advantage here.
After looking at his numbers currently as compared to Hardik Pandya, his batting average is far more superior to Pandya’s 32.82. The Indian all-rounder has featured in 94 ODIs till date, which is more than half of Omarzai’s tally. Additionally, Pandya averages 35.50 with the ball in ODIs, in comparison to Omarzai’s 27.41. These data sets give us an insight into the quality which the Afghan all-rounder possesses.
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