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Not too long ago, in 2020, Fazalhaq Farooqi was still playing cricket for Afghanistan’s U-19 side at the World Cup in South Africa. He was 19 then, and only a few eyeballs were on the pacer from an international lens.
As a cricketing nation, Afghanistan, too, was trying to wrestle with top Test-playing teams for its share of the limelight. Rashid Khan, their talismanic spinner, was almost single-handedly spearheading those efforts.
Amidst this, a left-arm spark arose: Fazalhaq, who started changing the global perception of Afghanistan as a cricketing nation. Like all, it started with a glimpse (a trailer) during the 2023 ODI World Cup, where he struck six times, including 4/34 against Sri Lanka in Pune.
But then, people rarely take the trailer seriously.
When the movie was released on the global stage (the 2024 T20 World Cup), people couldn’t help but leave without a loud whistle or thundering applause.
That tournament was enough to convince the world that Fazalhaq Farooqi was here to stay.
In that global competition, the Afghan pace sensation ran through batting units nonchalantly, striking 17 times in the competition, the joint-most alongside India’s Arshdeep Singh. It wasn’t just against the lower opposition; even the mightiest of ones - New Zealand - were completely bamboozled by his left-arm pace.
Fazalhaq struck 10 times in the field restriction phase, averaging 11.3, swinging the ball both ways, finishing the tournament with an average of 9.41.
Ending a tournament with an average of 9.41 happens once in a lifetime.
But in the 24-year-old Fazalhaq’s case, it wasn’t a one-time affair.
Since 2023, when Fazalhaq started drawing the imagination of the fans, there aren’t too many pacers who have been able to top him in T20 cricket. During this period, the Afghani pacer has the best T20 average (16.8), picking up a staggering 104 wickets.
If you put the wickets column into perspective, only three players - Shaheen Shah Afridi (113), Arshdeep (111) and Naveen-ul-Haq (105) have more wickets than the 24-year-old.
He wasn’t just lethal, he was lethal while being miserly - a combination that T20 cricket seldom sees amongst the pacers, with the best economy (7.25) among those wicket-takers.
It was almost too good to be true.
The 24-year-old then took all those numbers and made it god-like in the third edition of International League T20 (ILT20), where he has been in quite stellar form for the MI Emirates side.
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Do you remember that part where we told you how his T20 World Cup numbers weren’t a one-time thing?
Across five appearances in the competition, Fazalhaq is already ruling the roost, with 12 scalps. In a tournament where other pacers are averaging closer to 20, he was averaging in SINGLE DIGITS before the clash against Abu Dhabi Knight Riders on January 21 (Tuesday).
Even after a poor display (by Fazalhaq’s high standards) in that clash, the left-arm pacer still averages 11.83 in ILT20 2025, the best amongst all pacers, and only behind Ayan Afzal Khan (6.33) for all bowlers. He isn’t just creating magic; he’s casting a spell on the batters so badly that they have been unable to recuperate.
After all, the ILT20 is a tournament where he’s always found profound success. The left-arm pacer finished the tournament last year with 17 wickets, averaging 13.05 at the same place in the same blue jersey.
But to go out there and top those nonchalantly is just mesmerizing. When you realise that he isn’t doing it with the new ball, it makes those numbers truly magical.
Fazalhaq’s improved range is such that the left-arm pacer has been able to prize out wickets at the death, with 10 out of his 12 wickets coming in the last five overs, a phase where he averages just 6.7.
If he isn’t able to land a pinpoint yorker, there’s always the slower cutter, a variation that he’s worked on harder to make the batters second-guess. Case in point being the contest against Dubai Capitals on January 11, where he was nearly unplayable.
With not a lot of swing on offer, the 24-year-old switched to his other weapon: a slower ball to prize out Shai Hope, the in-form batter in the competition. Later, when he was reinstated at the death, he combined that cutter with precise yorkers that bamboozled Rovman Powell, almost like it was a throwback to a peak Wasim Akram in the Middle East.
It was a ploy he later repeated against Sharjah Warriorz on January 19, with such perfection, understanding the science of pace bowling to the finer molecules.
That’s exactly what differentiates the Afghani pacer from all the different new ball bowlers in world cricket. He isn’t a one-trick pony; he’s becoming a complete package that Rajasthan Royals would have desired when they got him at the IPL Auction 2025, at his base price of INR 2 crore.
While people would have assumed that Rajasthan’s pace bowling stocks plummeted from Boult to Fazalhaq, they have actually become stronger. Powerplay specialist More like an all-phase specialist.
Fazalhaq Farooqi might already be one of the best pacers right now in world cricket. When you realise that he’s just 24, and that’s the tip of the iceberg, you wonder what the future holds.
