Mohammad Nabi

Some Lesser Known Facts About Mohammad Nabi

• Nabi comes from a family that migrated to Peshawar, Pakistan during the Soviet Cold War in Afghanistan.

• He started playing cricket with a tennis ball at the age of 10. He later began his training at Arshad Khan’s academy in Peshawar.

  

• He was a pacer during his early days but later became an off-spinner to avoid injuries.

• He moved back to Afghanistan from Pakistan in 2000 at the age of 17 and became a member of the Afghanistan national cricket team as a bowler. He later developed his skills as a batsman.

  

• In 2003, he was Afghanistan’s top scorer with 61 runs that he scored in his first competitive match against Rahim Yar Khan Cricket Association in Mahmood Stadium, Punjab, Pakistan.

• In a match against Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) in 2006 in Mumbai, India, he scored 116 runs which impressed England’s test captain Mike Gatting. Nabi later played in England and Pakistan for various teams.

  

• Mohammad Nabi helped Afghanistan win the ICC World Cricket League Division Five and ICC World Cricket League Division Four in 2008.

• He was a member of the Afghanistan team which played in the ICC World Cricket League Division Three in 2009 and earned One Day International (ODI) status for the first time.

  

• Nabi was the highest run scorer for Afghanistan in their first ODI match on 19 April 2009 against Scotland at Willowmoore Park, Benoni. He made his first ODI fifty on his ODI debut with 58 runs and went wicketless for 41 runs in 8 overs.

• In Afghanistan’s first T20I match, which was also Nabi’s first T20I match, he scored 2 runs in 5 balls and took 1 wicket for 19 runs in 4 overs. He played for Afghanistan in the 2010 T20 World Cup held in West Indies.

• In the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games, he led Afghanistan to win the silver medal after losing to Bangladesh in the final. He quit captaincy after the tournament. He again won the silver medal in the 2014 Incheon Asian Games.

  

• In March 2013, he became the captain of Afghanistan and led the team in the 2014 Asia Cup, 2014 T20 World Cup, and 2015 ODI World Cup. In April 2015, he resigned as captain.

  

• He was the highest wicket-taker in the 2013 Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) season with 18 wickets.

• In May 2013, his father was kidnapped and kidnappers demanded a ransom of $2 million. He was released in August 2013 without any ransom being paid as many accomplices of kidnappers were detained by the police.

  

• In 2015, Inzamam-ul-Haq became the coach of Afghanistan and promoted Nabi from batting position 6 to batting position 3.

• He emerged as the highest runscorer with 223 runs in the 5-match ODI series against Zimbabwe in October 2015, which Afghanistan won by 3-2. He made his first ODI hundred on 18 October 2015 against Zimbabwe with 116 runs off 121 deliveries.

• He made headlines for being the highest wicket-taker for Afghanistan in the 2016 T20 World Cup with 12 wickets in 7 matches at an average of 13.67, an economy rate of 6.07, and a strike rate of 13.50. He also scored his first T20I half-century with 52 runs against Zimbabwe on 12 March 2016.

  

• In the 2017 Indian Premier League (IPL) auction, Nabi was acquired by SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) for his base price of Rs 30 Lakh.

• He played his debut IPL match on 17 April 2017 for SRH against Kings XI Punjab (Punjab Kings) and scored 2 runs and took 1 wicket for 28 runs.

  

• In his first test match, which was also Afghanistan’s first test match, he scored 24 runs in the first innings and got out on a duck in the second innings. India defeated Afghanistan by an innings and 262 runs.

• In the 2019 ODI World Cup, he took 10 wickets in 9 matches, finishing as the top wicket-taker for Afghanistan in the tournament.

  

• In March 2019, he opened his cricket academy, Nabi International Cricket Academy (NICA) in Melbourne, Australia.

  

• In September 2019, during his last test match, he got out on a duck in the first innings and scored 8 runs in the second innings. He took 3 wickets for 56 runs in the first innings and 1 wicket for 39 runs in the second innings, helping Afghanistan defeat Bangladesh by 224 runs.

  

• In October 2019, rumours spread on social media that Mohammad Nabi had passed away due to a heart attack; however, those were denied by Nabi himself in a Twitter post.

  

• He captained Afghanistan in the 2021 and 2022 T20 World Cups. He quit as the captain following the 2022 T20 World Cup due to differences with the team management.

• In August 2021, his mother was admitted to a hospital after she complained of health issues.

  

• In 2022, he played alongside his son Hassan Khan for Bukhatir XI in a Sharjah-based T20 tournament and said that he wanted to play with his son in international cricket.

  

• In the 2022 IPL auction, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) acquired him for his base price of Rs 1 crore. He went unsold in the 2023 IPL auction.

  

• He took his first ODI 5-wicket haul on 12 March 2024 by taking 5 wickets for 17 runs against Ireland.

• He is one of the most respected cricketers globally and has been regarded for changing Afghanistan’s cricket face worldwide.

  

• On 19 December 2023, he was acquired by Mumbai Indians for Rs. 1.50 crore in the 2024 IPL auction, held at the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai.

  

• He donated money in 2023 for the construction of a cancer hospital, Adei Cancer Hospital, which is being built in partnership with the Ministry of Public Health of Afghanistan.

  

• He has established an NGO named Mohammad Nabi Charity Foundation and often engages in charity work such as donating food and clothes to needy people.

  

• He follows most Islamic practices and fasts during Ramazan/Ramadan. He was once travelling from Dubai to Scotland during Ramadan and fasted for 35 hours.