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Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar hails from a distinguished lineage of talented Afghanistan spinners who have showcased exceptional potential from a young age. Mentored by former Afghanistan cricketer Dawlat Ahmadzai, Ghazanfar is a masterful practitioner of finger spin and is often regarded as his captain's go-to bowler for strangling the opposition's run-flow, irrespective of the format or conditions. After making headlines for Afghanistan Under-19 at the 2024 Under-19 World Cup by picking up eight wickets in just four innings with an impressive economy rate of 3.35, the teenager earned his first international cap during Afghanistan’s short ODI series against Ireland in Sharjah in March 2024. In November, just weeks before the IPL 2025 mega auction, the youngster dismantled a strong Bangladesh line-up with career-best ODI figures of 6-26 in Sharjah. This exceptional spell set the tone for the rest of the series, which Afghanistan won 2-1, with Ghazanfar taking eight wickets across all three innings at an average of just 13.75. AM Ghazanfar was also part of the triumphant Kolkata Knight Riders squad that clinched the IPL 2024 title. Unfortunately, the youngster did not get a single crack in the Playing XI throughout the season. A few months later, in October, Ghazanfar spearheaded Afghanistan A’s maiden T20 Emerging Teams Asia Cup victory, delivering match-winning spells in both the semifinal against India A and the final against Sri Lanka A. Aged just over 18 at the time, Ghazanfar's string of successes in his past 12 months culminated in a lucrative IPL contract with the Mumbai Indians franchise at the 2025 auction in November. Starting with a base price of Rs. 75 lakh, the Afghan bowling prodigy was eventually secured by the Mumbai Indians management for a staggering sum of Rs. 4.80 crore. (As of January 2025)
