The right-arm spinner has picked 15 wickets in the competition so far.
How much mystery is too much mystery? How does one measure the impact that a mystery bowler has on a side? A certain way to do that would be via the wickets column, and Allah Ghazanfar has been making sure that the number in front of his name keeps getting bigger and bolder. The 19-year-old scalped a phenomenal three-wicket haul in Qualifier 2 of the ILT20 2025-26.
Two of his wickets came in the same over as the spinner from Afghanistan ended up with figures of 3/24 in his four overs. His spell was clearly the difference between the two sides as the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders (ADKR) were bundled out for a mere 120/8 in their 20 overs. Muhammad Rohid and Fazalhaq Farooqi chipped in with two wickets each.
The young mystery spinner from Afghanistan has not been selected in the squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2026, but is included in the reserves. The squad already consists of a lot of quality spinners and the management went ahead of his name in the extras. However, the 19-year-old has proven time and again that he has the ingredients to trouble batters for years to come.
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Ability wise, a 100% yes! But considering the team combination at the moment, it looks like Ghazanfar will have to wait for his moment to feature in the playing XI for the five-time IPL champions. The fact that he was retained by the franchise proves that he is a part of their plans for the next season. But it will have to be seen how they plan to accommodate him into their XI.
The Mumbai Indians (MI) have got Mitchell Santner and Mayank Markande as their spin bowling options, both of whom are expected to play in the XI ahead of Allah Ghazanfar. Markande might have to take turns with Shardul Thakur considering the conditions and the pitch. But apart from that, Naman Dhir can also roll his arm over, which makes it difficult for the Afghan spinner to get into the XI.
It is pretty evident that this ILT20 season has been the most significant one for Ghazanfar in terms of his success in terms of wickets. The youngster has already scalped 15 wickets in the competition in just 12 games under his belt. That being said, his economy reads just 7.07, which a franchise would take any day for the role that he is expected to play.
What makes it increasingly difficult for the batter to read the likes of Allah Ghazanfar through the hand is his action and release. As a result, the batter is forced to read him after the ball has pitched, and is left with no time to react. The youngster does not leave the batters with a lot of time, and can also spin the ball both ways with almost similar release points.
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