Delhi Bulls secured an easy six-wicket win as they got the better of Bangla Tigers in match five of the T10 League. The encounter was played at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi as Afghanistan's young left-arm fast bowler Fazalhaq Farooqi ran the show with an excellent spell with the new ball.
In his two overs the Afghan bowler underlined his importance by conceding just eight runs in his couple of overs and also clinched a brace of wickets. The pacer was at his ‘A’ game against a side that contained the likes of former South Africa captain Faf du Plessis, West Indies batter Andre Fletcher and Afghan compatriot Hazratullah Zazai. While Fletcher miscued a shot and got caught, Du Plessis was bamboozled by a toe-crushing yorker.
Quality pacer in reserves
Interestingly, despite being in good shape the pacer was not included in the Afghanistan squad for the recently-concluded T20 World Cup 2021 in same conditions. The team coached by former South Africa all-rounder Lance Klusener opted not to take the pacer to UAE and Oman. However, the bowler has silenced his critics by coming back strong and showing Afghanistan missed out on a real asset during the tournament as they failed to make past the Super-12 stage.
In the entire T20 World Cup, the Afghan pacers managed to take only 10 wickets in five matches. While their heavy reliance on spinners was the main reason why Farooqi warmed the benches, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb-ur-Rahman were formidable in spin department. Mujeeb took five wickets in an innings against Scotland in the team's opening match. The presence of a quality left-arm spinner could have added more variety to their bowling attack.
IPL stint
The 21-year-old pacer was on the cards of Punjab Kings (PBKS) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the Indian Premier League (IPL). He was part of the roster as net bowler and gained important experience with the franchises. Afghanistan bowlers went for plenty in death overs after bowling well in the middle overs against all teams in their group except India. The presence of a quality fast bowler could have bolstered their chances of finishing well with the ball.
