Fazalhaq Farooqi

Ever since making his international debut in 2021, Fazalhaq Farooqi has established himself as one of Afghanistan’s premier fast bowlers across formats. A left-armer with the ability to swing the ball both ways, the Baghlan-born cricketer has been a consistent performer over the years for his national team but truly came into his own at the T20 World Cup 2024. With 17 scalps in eight matches, he finished as the joint-highest wicket-taker in the tournament alongside Arshdeep Singh and was one of the key stakeholders in the Afghanistan cricket team’s historic march to the semi-finals. The tally included a fifer against Uganda in the opener and a four-wicket haul against New Zealand. Fazalhaq Farooqi has played in various franchise leagues across the globe, such as the Indian Premier League, Big Bash League, Lanka Premier League and Bangladesh Premier League. He was a net bowler for the Punjab Kings in 2020 and then for Chennai Super Kings in 2021 in the lead-up to his IPL breakthrough with Sunrisers Hyderabad, who signed him up in IPL 2022. He has played just seven matches for SRH in two seasons, picking up six wickets. The Afghan pacer will be hoping to make more of an impact with the Rajasthan Royals, who snapped him up at the IPL 2025 mega auction.