Shapoor Zadran

Shapoor Zadran, a tall, lanky fast bowler from Afghanistan made his name by bowling with pace and aggression. He is 6-feet tall and has a run-up which almost starts at the boundary line. Shapoor had a tough life, moving from Afghanistan to Pakistan to pursue his cricket dreams due to war breaking out in his region. He aimed to play for Pakistan but went back to Afghanistan to continue his cricketing career. Shapoor idolizes Shoaib Akhtar and one can see a glimpse of the Rawalpindi Express in his bowling run-up. Zadran made his first-class debut against the Zimbabwe XI in 2009 but had a quiet game as he finished with just two wickets in the match.

Shapoor made his ODI debut in 2009 against the Netherlands and was the best bowler on show for Afghanistan, picking up 4 wickets for just 24 runs but still his team ended on the losing side. A T20I debut soon followed against Ireland but Zadran could not make the same impact as he did on his ODI debut. He was expensive and did not pick up a single wicket. Zadran was part of Afghanistan's 2009 ACC T20 Cup winning squad where he played an important role in the T20 Qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup and helped his side qualify for the main tournament.

In the 2012 T20 World Cup, Zadran stitched a record 9th wicket partnership (44 runs) with Gulbadin Naib and was also the only bowler from Afghanistan to take more than 10 wickets in the 2015 World Cup, further showing that he is a class bowler. Later on, Zadran lost some of his bowling form and injuries also took a toll on his body.

After spending some time away from the national team, Shapoor made a return to the T20I squad in 2020 following some great domestic performances but he could not make the same impact that he made when he began his career. Shapoor was a part of the Test squad which played against Bangladesh in 2019 but he is yet to make his debut in that format.