Mohammad Nabi

Mohammad Nabi Pashto:محمد نبي عيسی خېل (born 3 March 1985) is a right-handed batsman and off break bowler who plays for and captains Afghanistan. He is the current captain of Afghanistan Cricket team. In 2013 Mohammad Nabi was bought by Sylhet Royals for a reported amount of $30,000 to play in Bangladesh Premier League.

National Team

He has been a key player for the up-and-coming Afghan team, and has been influential in Afghanistan's rapid rise through the ranks of international cricket, taking 11 wickets during the 2009 ICC World Cricket League Division Three, helping Afghanistan finish top and to progress to the 2009 ICC World Cup Qualifier. After finishing 5th and gaining One Day International status Nabi made his ODI debut against Scotland top scoring for Afghanistan with 58 runs.

In Afghanistan's first match of the Intercontinental Cup, which was Afghanistan's debut first-class match, Nabi made 102 in Afghanistan's first innings against a Zimbabwe XI in a team total of 427 all out.

In February 2010, Nabi made his Twenty20 International debut against Ireland, where he took a single wicket. Despite this, Afghanistan lost the match by 5 wickets.

In November 2010, Nabi was appointed Afghanistan's captain for Asian Games however Nawroz Mangal was restored as Captain after the tournament. Under Nabi's captaincy Afghanistan finished runners-up, losing only to Bangladesh in the final.

In March 2013, Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) announced that Mohammad Nabi, will lead the national side in the ICC Intercontinental Cup in the UAE, after Nawroz Mangal was stripped of the captaincy following his dismal show in the limited-over series in Pakistan the previous month. Afghanistan began life under Nabi's captaincy with a comfortable win in the first of two Twenty20 internationals against Scotland in Sharjah. Nabi took two wickets for 12 runs in four overs.

Club career

Mohammad Nabi in club level has played for Sylhet Royals of Bangladesh, Afghan Cheetahs in Pakistan and Marylebone Cricket Club in UK.

Afghan Cheetahs - Marylebone Cricket Club

Nabi played for the Afghan Cheetahs team which competed in the Faysal Bank Twenty-20 Cup 2011-12 in Pakistan. He also played for Marylebone Cricket Club alongside Hamid Hassan.They played on behalf of MCC for the curtain raiser of the English county season against champion Nottinghamshire on March 27–31, 2011. MCC defeated Nottinghamshire by 174 runs and Hamid Hassan took 7 wickets and Nabi 2 wickets.They also played for the MCC in the Twenty20 side as they took on Nottinghamshire, Durham, Sussex and a select Fly Emirates side, in the Emirates Airline Twenty20 Trophy on 1 April.

Sylhet Royals

In January–February 2013 Nabi played for Bangladesh Premier League side Sylhet Royals and helped his team reach the Semi-finals with some excellent performances. He took 16 wickets in 13 matches for Royals and was one of the top batsmen in the tournament. After the Royals had lost Andre Russell due to an injury, their search for an allrounder stopped at Nabi. The demand for the offspinner had come from the team's coach Mohammad Salahuddin, who has been vindicated by Nabi's performance.

He took 2 for 15 in the first match to give the Royals a controlled start against Barisal Burners – a 33-run win. Two more tight spells were followed by his first significant contributions with the bat. In a big chase against Chittagong Kings, Nabi's sense of occasion came forth. His 43 wasn't smash and grab as they chased 173 runs to win, but a more measured effort that gave his side their best win in the tournament's first phase. He had a lull in the next four games before picking up two three-wicket hauls against the Kings and the Khulna Royal Bengals. Nabi has done well at the start of games, having opened the bowling on several occasions. He quickly realised when to slow down his pace or push the ball through to defend against attacking batsmen.

"Nabi made a good start to the tournament, and after a slow period in the middle, he has again started doing well," Salahuddin said. "He is a good cricketer with a lot of variations and it is clear he understands the game quickly. He carries out the plans that we set for him for every batsmen."

Salahuddin had observed Nabi and his team-mate Stirling throughout their BPL campaigns and didn't spot much of a difference between them and cricketers from Test nations. "I don't see them much different, they seem to catch on-field situations quickly. I think they are very hungry," he said. "Their attitude has helped our team do well. They have team feelings, and never seemed like outsiders to me. I think they make good team-mates."

In the race to the final match against Dhaka Gladiators, Nabi took the wicket of Chris Gayle who smashed 114 from 51 balls (last 87 runs off 22) to help Dhaka Gladiators enter the final. Nabi finished his innings taking two wickets (economy of 4.25). In Semi-final match against Chittagong Kings, Nabi took two more wickets but couldn't stop the Kings winning the match.^[1]

Personal life

The father of Mohammad Nabi, Khobai Isakhel, was kidnapped in May 2013 on the outskirts of Jalalabad in the eastern province of Nangarhar.

"Yesterday at around 10.00 am, unknown armed man seized him [Isakhel] from his car," Ahmad Zia Abdulzai, a spokesman for the Nangarhar provincial government, told AFP. "No trace of him has yet been found."

Nabi said the kidnappers had not yet made contact with him and he had no idea about their identity.^[2]

References

External links

• Player profile: Mohammad Nabi from ESPNcricinfo

v t e Afghanistan squad – 2010 ICC World Twenty20 1 Shahzad 7 Nabi 10 Sadiq 14 Ali 16 Ashraf 20 Zadran 44 Stanikzai 45 Shinwari 48 Mangal (c) 55 R. Ahmadzai 66 Hasan 77 D. Ahmadzai - Nasrat - Noori - Shafiqullah Coach: Khan

v t e Afghanistan squad – 2012 ICC World Twenty20 1 Najibullah Zadran 7 Mohammad Nabi 10 Dawlat Zadran 11 Gulbudeen Naib 14 Javed Ahmadi 20 Shapoor Zadran 28 Shafiqullah 44 Asghar Stanikzai 45 Samiullah Shenwari 48 Nawroz Mangal (c) 66 Hameed Hassan 77 Mohammad Shahzad (wk) 84 Karim Sadiq 99 Izatullah Dawlatzai - Mohammad Nasim Coach: Kabir Khan