Mujeeb Ur Rahman was not considered for the Champions Trophy 2025.
Afghanistan cricket is known for its spinners, and several quality tweakers have come out from this part and shown brightly at the highest level. While they have quite a few now, the first real quality ones were the likes of Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman.
They spun a web against the opponent batters and led their side to numerous memorable victories. They did the heavy lifting for the team and operated effectively across phases, which was a major feature of their bowling.
However, times have changed, and while Rashid and Nabi are still integral to the ODI team, Mujeeb is no longer a certain starter in the XI. It’s not that Afghanistan didn’t give him ample chances, but performances kept shrinking after the initial highs, leading to the team looking for alternatives.
The downfall started in 2022 when batters began to read the variations easily from his hands. From his debut to 2021, Mujeeb snared 70 wickets at an average of 22.04 and a strike rate of 33.32 in 42 innings, including two four-wicket and a five-wicket haul.
Another notable aspect was his economy rate, 3.96, the best among bowlers in at least 30 innings. His average (22.04) was only behind Rashid Khan (21.71) in the same criteria.
However, since 2022, Mujeeb only has 31 wickets at an abysmal average of 42.58 and a 52.74 strike rate in 32 innings. That economy rate surged to 4.84 in this period, suggesting his wicket-taking and run-preserving went downhill suddenly.
Also Read: Should Ruturaj Gaikwad Play in the Middle-order For CSK in IPL 2025 to Boost India Chances?
He operated effectively in the powerplay and snared wickets upfront when Mujeeb was at his peak. Till 2022, Mujeeb averaged 19.07 and took a wicket every 30.73, conceding only 3.72 runs per over, in the first ten overs.
The same average rose to 56.11 and started leaking 4.59 runs per over from 2023. The emergence of Azmatullah Omarzai and Naveen-ul-Haq coincided with Mujeeb’s downfall, taking away the main aspect of his bowling.
Azmatullah and Naveen can move the new ball, with the former able to do it both ways. So, during the lean patch, the team started using him more in the middle overs – 39.68% of overs until 2021 compared to 49.96% since 2022.
Now Mujeeb was never a big wicket-taker in the middle overs. Even during his peak period, he conceded 32.52 runs before taking a wicket and gave 4.01 runs per over in this phase.
So, when the lean patch started, the average became 37.05 and the economy 4.90. Even in helpful conditions, Mujeeb couldn’t make inroads.
The main reason for not getting enough success was bowling at an unnecessarily high pace, leading to errors in lines and lengths. He didn’t look to turn the ball much and just kept operating at a certain speed, which can often occur when wickets don’t come easily.
Even on decks in Paarl that are slow and low in SA20, Mujeeb has consistently bowled 100 km/h+, which was unnecessary. His high pace doesn’t allow his variations to do enough off the deck and err on the shorter side.
All this compelled Afghanistan to look beyond him in the 50-over format. To Afghanistan’s fortunes and Mujeeb’s misfortunes, Allah Ghazanfar made a steep rise and impressed immediately.
Also Read: Rishabh Pant’s Savage Troll Of Punjab Kings During LSG Captaincy Announcement Goes Viral
He had a breakthrough debut year in 2024, where he took wickets for fun. Ghazanfar did what Mujeeb did at his peak – dismissing batters in the powerplay – and operated effectively in the middle overs.
He was the joint second-leading wicket-taker in the powerplay last year, taking 9 wickets at 13 runs apiece. Further, he took 10 wickets at an average of 14 and an economy rate of 3.98 in the middle overs.
While the decks suited his bowling style, Ghazanfar did the basics correctly and fetched his rewards. He still has a long way to go and should work more on deliveries than the carrom ball, but he has done enough to keep his place in the ODI side for some time.
His emergence meant Mujeeb didn’t play any games last year and was not considered for the Champions Trophy 2025. He needs to rediscover his ODI bowling and return to what helped him flourish in the first few years. Else, given the spin talent pool of Afghanistan, Mujeeb will go further lower in the pecking order.
For more updates, follow CricXtasy on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Telegram, and YouTube.
