Rahmanullah Gurbaz completes 50 T20Is for Afghanistan: Decoding his stats
Afghanistan's swashbuckling opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz has completed 50 appearances in T20I cricket. The opening T20I clash between Sri Lanka and Afghanistan in Dambulla marked his milestone. Gurbaz has been a mainstay for Afghanistan at the top of the order in limited-overs cricket. He has handed the visitors some exceptional starts in T20I cricket. Here we decode his stats in T20Is.
Ninth Afghanistan cricketer to achieve this feat
As per ESPNcricinfo, Gurbaz is the ninth Afghan cricketer to complete 50 appearances in T20I cricket. Veteran all-rounder Mohammad Nabi, who features in his 116th T20I is Afghanistan's most capped player in this format. Najibullah Zadran is the only other Afghan cricketer with 100 T20I appearances. Afghanistan's talismanic leg-spinner Rashid Khan has made 81 appearances in T20I cricket.
Fifth-highest run-getter for Afghanistan in T20Is
Gurbaz has been sensational for Afghanistan in the shortest format of the game. The 22-year-old has amassed 1,271 runs from 49 matches at an average of 25.93. His strike rate of 137.1 is also very decent. The dasher has smashed six fifties and a solitary ton in this format. Notably, he is among the three Afghanistan batters with a T20I hundred.
Most runs for Afghanistan since his debut in T20Is
Gurbaz made his T20I debut for Afghanistan against Zimbabwe at Mirpur in September 2019. Since then, he has scored the most runs for the Afghans in this format. Najubullah is the only other Afghan batter with 1,000-plus runs (1,035) in this period. Followed by Nabi (806) and Hazratullah Zazai (714). Gurbaz is the only Afghan batter to slam a T20I ton in this period.
Gurbaz averages 50.66 against Sri Lanka in T20Is
The 22-year-old has enjoyed playing against the Lankan Lions in the shortest format of the game. Gurbaz has amassed 152 runs from three T20Is against SL at an impressive average of 50.66. He owns a strike rate of 174.71 and has hammered a solitary fifty against them. Gurbaz has scored 1,061 runs in 39 T20Is on Asian soil, slamming five fifties and a ton.
Other T20I feats for Gurbaz
Gurbaz's solitary ton came off only 50 deliveries against UAE in Sharjah last year. As per ESPNcricinfo, he scored Afghanistan's second-fastest T20I hundred. His partnership of 137 runs with Ibrahim Zadran against UAE in 2023 for the second wicket is Afghanistan's second-highest partnership in T20Is. Gurbaz's tally of 77 sixes in T20Is is the third-highest among Afghan batters.
