Name: Najibullah Zadran

Najibullah Zadran is an Afghan cricketer who plays as an aggressive middle-order batsman for the national team across all formats. Zadran made his first-class debut for Mis Ainak Region in the 2017 Ahmad Shah Abdali 4-day tournament, scoring 51 on debut. He has been a consistent performer in Afghanistan's domestic T20 tournament, the Shpageeza Cricket League, representing various teams like Amo Sharks.

Zadran represented Afghanistan at the 2011 U-19 World Cup Qualifier. He made his international debut for the senior team in an ODI against Ireland in February 2014, followed by his T20I debut against Hong Kong a few days later.

Zadran had to wait until June 2018 to play his first Test against India. While not a regular initially, he cemented his spot in Afghanistan's white-ball sides as a reliable middle-order batter.

At the 2019 World Cup, Zadran was Afghanistan's second-highest run-scorer with 218 runs, including knocks of 51 against Sri Lanka and 73 versus West Indies. In January 2021, he scored his maiden ODI century, an unbeaten 104 off 62 balls against Ireland.

Zadran's Test breakthrough came in March 2022 when he scored a brilliant 135 against Bangladesh, forcing his way into becoming an all-format regular for Afghanistan.

Zadran has played franchise T20 cricket around the world. In 2018, he represented Montreal Tigers in the Global T20 Canada and Kandahar in the inaugural Afghanistan Premier League.

He has featured in the Bangladesh Premier League for teams like Chittagong Vikings (2018-19) and Khulna Tigers (2019-20). Zadran also played for St Lucia Zouks in the 2020 Caribbean Premier League.

In 2021, he turned out for Karachi Kings in the rescheduled Pakistan Super League matches and Dambulla Giants in the Lanka Premier League.

In July 2021, Zadran was appointed vice-captain of Afghanistan's T20I team, underlining his importance in white-ball cricket. He was also the captain of Afghanistan's U-23 team for the 2018 ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup.