Diamond pick Balkh Zwanan
The off-spinner who took 6 for 26 against Bangladesh at 18, and Balkh Zwanan's Diamond pick for APL 2026.
Last updated 6 November 2026, 07:17 GST
An off-spinner from Paktia Province who made his name with two ODI five-wicket hauls inside his first 11 ODIs. He was 12 when the first APL season was played in 2018, so the 2026 season is his APL debut.
He was 12 years old when the first Afghanistan Premier League season was played in Sharjah in October 2018, and he was not part of that league. His rise since has been rapid: a T20 debut for Mis Ainak Knights in the Shpageeza in July 2022, an ODI debut against Ireland in Sharjah on 7 March 2024 — thirteen days before his 18th birthday — and two ODI five-wicket hauls inside his first 11 ODIs, 6 for 26 against Bangladesh and 5 for 33 against Zimbabwe.
Balkh Zwanan took him in the first Diamond round at the player draft in Dubai on 3 November 2026, at US$65,000, to bowl in an attack that also includes Moeen Ali and Qais Ahmad. He plays under captain Ibrahim Zadran, with Mickey Arthur as head coach and Tillakaratne Dilshan as mentor. The season starts on 27 December 2026 in the UAE, and it will be his first APL season.
Ghazanfar has no APL figures yet. He was not part of the 2018 season — he was 12 years old — and the 2026 season has not started. The tables below will be filled in once he plays.
| Season | Matches | Runs | Average | Strike rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Season not started | |||
| Season | Matches | Wickets | Average | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Season not started | |||
| Year | Team | Matches | Runs | Wickets | Finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Balkh Zwanan | Season not started | To be confirmed | ||
6 for 26 in 6.3 overs at Sharjah — his career-best ODI figures and Player of the Match as Afghanistan bowled Bangladesh out for 143 and won by 92 runs.
Why it mattered: the second-best ODI bowling figures by an Afghan, after Rashid Khan's 7 for 18, and the spell that set up the series win.
5 for 33 in ten overs at Harare — his second five-wicket haul in his 11th ODI, as Zimbabwe were bowled out for 127 and Afghanistan won by eight wickets to seal the series 2–0.
Why it mattered: it made him the third player, after Waqar Younis and Rashid Khan, to take two ODI five-wicket hauls before turning 19.
3 for 20 in ten overs, with two maidens, in his second ODI at Sharjah — Stubbs, Smith and Verreynne were his victims as South Africa were bowled out for 106.
Why it mattered: Afghanistan won by six wickets, their first-ever ODI win over South Africa, and they went on to win the series 2–1.
4-2-5-2 opening the bowling for Derbyshire at Headingley — Jonny Bairstow bowled for a five-ball duck and James Wharton caught for nought as Yorkshire made 151 for 9.
Why it mattered: the joint-second-most economical four-over spell in T20 Blast history, and Derbyshire won by eight wickets.
2 for 17 in 2.5 overs — his best IPL figures, dismissing Kagiso Rabada and Mohammed Siraj as Mumbai Indians won by 99 runs.
Why it mattered: the standout spell of a debut IPL season in which he finished as Mumbai's top wicket-taker, with 15 wickets in 11 matches.
Ghazanfar is a right-arm off-break bowler who began as a fast bowler. He was turned into a spinner by Dawlat Ahmadzai, a former Afghanistan captain, who also worked on the mental side of his game. He bowls finger spin off a nine-step run-up, with a hop and a skip and a fastish arm action in the Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman mould. Batters find it hard to read his stock ball and his variations out of the hand, and Ahmadzai's view is that he is already harder to pick than Mujeeb, because of his action.
His variations are the googly, which was his first strength, the carrom ball, the offbreak, the arm ball and the flipper. He is a powerplay bowler as well as a middle-overs one: for Mumbai Indians in IPL 2026 he took six powerplay wickets, the most by a Mumbai spinner in one season, passing Harbhajan Singh's five in 2011. At six feet two inches he is tall for a spinner and gets bounce, and captains use him to strangle the run flow. With the bat he is a tail-ender — his highest ODI score is 31 not out — so he is picked for his bowling, and Balkh will use him in the powerplay and through the middle.
His international career began with an ODI debut against Ireland in Sharjah on 7 March 2024, thirteen days before his 18th birthday. By the end of that year he had 21 wickets in 11 ODIs at 13.57, with two five-wicket hauls, and he was named in the ICC's ODI Team of the Year. As of November 2026 he has taken 31 wickets in 24 ODIs at 22.16, with best figures of 6 for 26. His Test debut came on 26 December 2024 against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo — also his first-class debut — and his T20I debut followed on 2 September 2025 against Pakistan in Sharjah. He was named in Afghanistan's squad for the 2025 Asia Cup, and at the 2024 Under-19 World Cup he took eight wickets in four innings at 3.35, including 3 for 29 against New Zealand.
The 2025 season was lost to injury. He fractured the L4 vertebra in his back during Afghanistan's tour of Zimbabwe in December 2024 and was out for at least four months, missing the Champions Trophy — where Nangeyalia Kharote replaced him — and the IPL, where Mumbai Indians replaced him with Mujeeb Ur Rahman. He came back with Derbyshire in the 2025 T20 Blast, finishing as the Falcons' leading wicket-taker with 16 wickets in 14 matches, and Derbyshire re-signed him for 2026. In the 2026 IPL he made his debut for Mumbai Indians on 29 March against Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede and took 15 wickets in 11 matches, the most of any Mumbai bowler.
His franchise path began in the Shpageeza, where Mis Ainak Knights called him in the day before his debut in July 2022 to replace Mir Hamza. He took 1 for 27 in four overs on debut and four wickets in his next match, and was Player of the Match in both. Kolkata Knight Riders signed him as Mujeeb's replacement for IPL 2024, though he did not play a match, and he came home with a winner's medal. He was also signed by Antigua and Barbuda Falcons for the 2025 Caribbean Premier League and drafted by Rangpur Riders for the 2025 Bangladesh Premier League, and he played the Abu Dhabi T10 in 2024. He was part of the Afghanistan A side that won the Emerging Teams Asia Cup in Oman in October 2024.
Balkh Zwanan. He was picked in the first Diamond round at the player draft in Dubai on 3 November 2026, at US$65,000, and he bowls in an attack that also includes Moeen Ali and Qais Ahmad. He plays under captain Ibrahim Zadran, with Mickey Arthur as head coach and Tillakaratne Dilshan as mentor. The season starts on 27 December 2026 in the UAE.
No. He was 12 years old when the first APL season was played in Sharjah in October 2018, and he was not part of that league. His T20 debut came in July 2022, when Mis Ainak Knights called him in as a replacement for the Shpageeza tournament in Kabul. The 2026 season is his APL debut, with Balkh Zwanan.
His best ODI figures are 6 for 26 against Bangladesh in the first ODI at Sharjah on 6 November 2024, when he was named Player of the Match and Afghanistan won by 92 runs. His second five-wicket haul came a month later, 5 for 33 against Zimbabwe in Harare on 21 December 2024. As of November 2026 he has taken 31 wickets in 24 ODIs.
Mumbai Indians. Kolkata Knight Riders signed him as Mujeeb Ur Rahman's replacement for IPL 2024, but he did not play a match. Mumbai signed him for ₹4.80 crore for IPL 2025, and an injury ruled him out before the season started. He made his IPL debut in 2026, taking 15 wickets in 11 matches and finishing as Mumbai's top wicket-taker.
He is a right-arm off-break bowler who began as a fast bowler and was turned into a spinner by former Afghanistan captain Dawlat Ahmadzai. He bowls finger spin with a nine-step run-up, a hop and a skip, and a fastish arm action. His variations include the googly, the carrom ball, the offbreak, the arm ball and the flipper, and batters find it hard to read him out of the hand.
