Gambhir was impressed with his craft and guided him to become a better bowler.
Few players have seen a rise as sharp as Allah Ghazanfar in the last year or so. The talent was palpable from the start, and his improved craft meant that Ghazanfar has slowly established himself as one of the mainstays in Afghanistan’s side across formats, with ample T20 exposure in various leagues.
His IPL stints have been interesting; the Mumbai Indians (MI) scouts noticed him first and asked him to attend trials at the ICC Cricket Academy while he was playing in the UAE. He impressed in the nets and had an assurance from the MI team management as a backup bowler in IPL 2024, but a visa issue meant he couldn’t join the five-time champions as a net bowler.
Instead, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) picked him as a replacement player for his Afghan teammate, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, and Ghazanfar worked extensively with Gautam Gambhir, who was the mentor of the Knight Riders. While chatting with ESPNcricinfo, he revealed that Gambhir was impressed with his craft and guided him to become a better bowler while also advising him to work on his batting potential to develop as a player.
“He gave me a lot of support. He said, ‘Your future is bright.’ [He said] that I should focus on my batting, which will come handy in the long run. He would stand behind me during my bowling at training and offer tips.”
Gautam Gambhir advised the Kolkata Knight Riders to buy Ghazanfar before leaving the franchise, but auction dynamics didn’t allow KKR to re-acquire him in the IPL 2025 auction. They bid heavily for the spinner in the room, starting from the base price of INR 75 Lakhs, before backing out after the penultimate bid of INR 4.60 crore.
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Instead, the Mumbai Indians bought him for a whopping INR 4.80 crore, but the 19-year-old couldn’t play the season due to a back injury, which took ample time to recover. However, Ghazanfar should be retained before the next season, given his superior talent and improved returns.
MI have Mitchell Santner as their lead spinner, and he is a seasoned campaigner who can help the Afghanistan spinner develop more and become a match-winner. For Ghazanfar, the key will be to maintain the mystery factor by working more on his variations, or he will become predictable soon, like several of his Afghanistan teammates.
He has been playing franchise cricket all around the world, which means his unpredictability factor can soon vanish, especially in a league like IPL. The good thing is that Ghazanfar has a solid base to build on, and with age on his side, he has the ingredients to replicate what Rashid Khan achieved in the T20 format.
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