Afghanistan and the rest of the world need to take Naib more seriously

“Thanks to Rashid (Khan) for trusting me.”

With all those muscles in his biceps and the structure of a bodybuilder, it’s impossible to look the other way when Gulbadin Naib is around you. You can’t ignore him as an individual but as a cricket player, Afghanistan and the rest of the world don’t really give him the amount of respect he deserves. It always feels like there’s a lack of trust in Naib’s all-round abilities.

You need examples? Let’s start with his batting. Naib has an average of 43.5 and a strike rate of 143.4 while batting at No. 3 for Afghanistan in T20Is. Those numbers look more than justifiable for a No. 3 batter. However, he has been given that position only nine times in 60 innings. At the start of this year, the right-hander slammed scores of 57 off 35 and 55* off 23 against India, and it looked certain that Naib would be trusted at No. 3 in the 2024 T20 World Cup.

But in the first two matches against Uganda and New Zealand, Naib batted at Nos. 5 and 7, respectively. He finally got an opportunity to bat at his preferred position and responded with a match-winning 49* in a tricky run-chase against Papua New Guinea (PNG) after Afghanistan had lost their in-form openers inside three overs. Naib then got out for just 7 against the West Indies and once again lost the No. 3 spot.

Now, let’s talk about his bowling. The right-arm seamer has bowled only 17 overs in 16 T20Is he has played since 2023. In those limited number of overs, Naib has taken 12 wickets at a stunning average of 9.7 and an economy rate of 6.8. No other Afghanistan bowler has a better average than Naib in this time frame. Fazalhaq Farooqi (6.6) is the only Afghanistan pacer with a better economy than Naib.

The 33-year-old didn’t get a single over in Afghanistan’s first three matches of the ongoing 20-over showpiece event. Now, they did win all of those games, but it reflected that the management was still not considering Naib as one of the frontline options, even on these slow West Indian surfaces. Then, in the game against the West Indies, Naib was used as the seventh bowling option when everyone was being taken to the cleaners.

Naib was given the ball in the 13th over, and it took him just one delivery to get rid of Shai Hope. Despite conceding only six runs, he was taken out of the attack. He was then asked to bowl the 19th over, and between that period, Afghanistan leaked 52 runs in five overs. Naib dismissed Rovman Powell and gave away eight runs in the penultimate over. 2/14 in two overs in a game where the West Indies amassed 218 doesn’t sound too bad, right?

But guess what? He once again didn’t get to bowl a single over in the first Super 8s encounter against India, where Afghanistan conceded 181 and lost by 47 runs. One more defeat and their campaign would be over. In a must-win clash against Australia in St Vincent, Afghanistan posted an above-par total of 148/6, thanks to Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran’s 118-run stand for the opening wicket. 

Naveen-ul-Haq then dismissed Travis Head and Mitchell Marsh inside three overs before Mohammad Nabi got rid of David Warner to reduce Australia to 33/3 in six overs. Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis were still in the middle. The former might not have been in great form, but everyone knows what he did against Afghanistan on one leg in the last ODI World Cup. Then there was Stoinis, who has been one of the best batters in this competition.

Stoinis was calm and composed, but Maxwell started to open up. The Big Show smoked Nangeyalia Kharote for a four and six and then got one more boundary off Rashid. It was clearly visible that Afghanistan weren’t comfortable with Maxwell’s presence in the middle. The partnership between the two was already 38, and Rashid had already used seven different bowling options in the first 10 overs.

With the game slipping away, Rashid gave the 11th over to Naib, and it took the all-rounder just three deliveries to make an impact. The surface provided enough help, and all one had to do was use it by bowling those cutters and hitting the pitch hard. And that’s exactly what Naib did. He went short to Stoinis, only at 122 KMPH, and the Australian all-rounder got himself into an awkward position and top-edged it to the wicketkeeper.

In his very next over, Naib pinned Tim David on his front pad with a sharp nip-backer from outside off and got the LBW decision in his favour. Australia were losing wickets from one end, but Maxwell was still in the middle and had already crossed the 50-run mark. This was the wicket Afghanistan desperately needed, and once again, Naib did the job for his team. 

Another delivery on length, and Maxwell got a thick edge while trying to drive this one towards the sweeper cover region. The ball went flat and low towards backward point, where Noor Ahmad completed a sharp low catch. Naib started flexing his biceps, and Afghanistan finally breathed a sigh of relief. They knew they wouldn’t have to cope with another Maxwell heartbreak, all thanks to Mr Gulbadin Naib.

Matthew Wade perished in the next over and the game was completely under Afghanistan’s control, with Australia needing 41 runs off 30 deliveries with four wickets in hand. Afghanistan have struggled to close out games against big nations in the past, but nothing was going to stop them and Naib from flexing their muscles at Arnos Vale Ground. Naib brought out another slower delivery and knocked over Pat Cummins in his fourth and final over.

His job was done. Naib finished with career-best figures of 4/20 and almost single-handedly stopped Australia in the second innings. Unlike his extravagant celebrations, Naib kept his bowling simple and straightforward and yielded the desired results. Naib registered the second-best bowling figures against Australia in the T20 World Cup. 

“I learnt from the batting innings about how to bowl [on this surface]. Thanks to Rashid for trusting me. We were waiting (for this) for a long time. It's a great moment not just for me but for my nation and my people. It was great teamwork, we worked hard for the last two months and the result is in front of you. Thank god we at last beat Australia,” he said after being named the Player of the Match. 

Naib not only helped Afghanistan beat Australia for the first time in any format but has also given his team a serious chance of qualifying for the semi-final. Afghanistan will next play Bangladesh at the same venue on June 24 and Rashid and the team management will have to find a way to use Naib a lot more. He has already shown he is not afraid of taking centre stage.

All brawn and no brains? Nah, Naib is all brawn but also all brains.     

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