Sport
Afghanistan’s Omarzai named ICC Men’s ODI Cricketer of the Year
He also enjoyed a strong year in T20Is and franchise cricket, but it was in ODIs where he proved most influential.
Afghanistan all-rounder Azmatullah Omarzai has been named ICC Men’s ODI Cricketer of the Year following a brilliant performance through 2024.
With his right-arm pace bowling and multifaceted batting game, the 24-year-old helped propel the Afghanistan team to a new level.
He also enjoyed a strong year in T20Is and franchise cricket, but it was in ODIs where he proved most influential.
He finished 2024 as his national team’s second-highest run scorer (behind Rahmanullah Gurbaz) and second-highest wicket taker (behind AM Ghazanfar), with Afghanistan winning four of their five ODI series last year.
Omarzai’s individual excellence wasn’t enough to earn Afghanistan a series win away in Sri Lanka at the start of the year, but he was central to four straight ODI series wins for Afghanistan, as his team won against Ireland, South Africa, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe.
The Afghanistan all-rounder was a standout performer with bat and ball throughout the year, scoring his runs at an average of 52.12 and bagging his wickets at 20.47.
But his brilliance lay not just in the overall numbers but in his individual performances, starting off in his very first ODI of the year, where he smashed an unbeaten 149 in a remarkable rearguard effort in defeat against Sri Lanka.
His destructive 86* from just 50 deliveries against South Africa was another memorable performance, with his rapid scoring helping set up a crushing win in the second ODI to win the series.
Omarzai repeatedly stood up when Afghanistan needed big contributions, but there are few better examples than with his series-defining performance in the third ODI against Bangladesh in Sharjah in November.
With the series on the line, Azmatullah bowled economically before delivering a death-overs masterclass to deny the Tigers the strong finish they were looking for, cleaning up set batter Mehidy Hasan Miraz among his three late wickets as he finished with figures of 4/37 from seven overs.
Faced with a target of 245 to win the match and series, Afghanistan limped through the first 20 overs, losing three of their top four cheaply, with the score at 84/3 when Azmatullah came to the crease.
But the right-hander won the game and series, building a century partnership with Rahmanullah Gurbaz before accelerating when the opener was dismissed, hitting the winning runs with a massive six to end unbeaten on 70* from 77 balls, sealing the victory with ten deliveries to spare.