'Watch out for Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar, he is 6-foot-2-inch tall' - Suresh Raina backs young Afghanistan off-spinner for IPL auction

Ahead of the IPL 2023 Auction, veteran India batter Suresh Raina has asked one and all to watch out for the emerging Afghanistan offie Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar. Ghazanfar is 15 years old and stands at 6 feet and 2 inches tall. He has become the youngest-ever player in IPL auction history.

The IPL 2023 mini-auction is scheduled to take place in Kochi on Friday, December 23 and as many as 991 players have registered their names for the upcoming event.

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Allah Mohammad is an off-spinner with a big heart: Suresh Raina

“I played with Mujtaba (Yousuf) in the Syed Mushtaq Ali. As a left-arm fast bowler, he has good action, and a good control on swing. Then you have Samarth Vyas from Saurashtra who has scored at a strike rate of over 150 and was among the top five run-getters in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, and just won the Vijay Hazare Trophy. He is a very good future prospect. But watch out for Allah Mohammad. At 6ft 2 inches and 15 years old, he is an off spinner with a big heart. A lot of talent coming from Afghanistan,” said Raina as quoted by Hindustan Times.

It now remains to be seen whether any of the ten franchises will be interested to have the budding off-spinner on board in the 2023 season. Notably, Ghazanfar had also registered his name for the 12^th edition of the Big Bash League (BBL) earlier this year, but he found no takers. The 15-year-old has set his base price at INR 20 lakh.

Allah Mohammad rose to prominence after playing U16 local tournaments after which he began training with the Afghan U19 team. It was just a matter of time before his talent put everyone on notice and the youngster made his debut in the Shpageeza League for Mis Ainak Knights.

Ghazanfar succeeded in creating a good first impression picking up five wickets in his first three outings. His best bowling performance came in the second match against Hindukush Stars where he finished with figures of 4/15.