T20 World Cup: Azmatullah Omarzai’s all-round heroics prove he’s Afghanistan’s go-to man in victory over UAE

With the UAE threatening to pull off an upset, having scored a par 160 and picked up regular wickets to leave the more pedigreed side needing 28 from the last 18 balls, Omarzai proved why he is now Afghanistan’s most valuable white-ball player. Having dented the UAE’s batting lineup earlier with four wickets, restricting them with an economical spell at the death, he absorbed the pressure of the chase and his own mishits to come up with a late flourish, ending on 40 from 21 balls to single-handedly take his team to a first victory at the T20 World Cup. He became only the third player in this competition’s history, after Dwayne Bravo and Shakib Al Hassan, to claim a four-for and a 30-plus score in the same match.

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Dealing with nerves has already proven a tall order for both Omarzai and Afghanistan. Unfortunate to be placed in the most competitive group of the World Cup, they missed out on a hugely crucial victory over two Super Overs against South Africa last week. Omarzai bowled one of those and leaked 23 runs; here, he dusted himself off to come up clutch.

Afghanistan all-rounder Azmatullah Omarzai picked four wickets and scored 40 runs against UAE during T20 World Cup 2026 match in at Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi. (Express Photo by Praveen Khanna)

“It’s the sign of a big player. Only those at the elite level come back from upsets like that,” Gulbadin Naib would say to reporters after Monday’s close win.

On a pitch that did not have outright assistance for the bowlers but a tendency for the ball to come slowly onto the bat, the UAE recovered from a poor start thanks to an 84-run partnership between Alishan Sharafu and Sohaib Khan, the latter’s 48-ball 68 putting them on course for a winning total until Omarzai had his say. After picking up one in the first over, he returned to scalp two in the 15th, and then sent Sohaib packing while staying tight to end with figures of four for 15.

His effectiveness in different phases of the innings spoke to his evolution as a fast bowler. Afghanistan coach Jonathan Trott later raved about the work he had to put in to refine his death bowling skills. But his contribution in the run-chase spoke not merely of his skills as a world-class allrounder, but also of a mental resilience that has been forged over years of competitive cricket.

Continuous rise

Growing up on tennis-ball street cricket in his hometown in the Nangarhar province, Omarzai rapidly grew in stature to eventually represent Afghanistan at the Under-19 level. Since then, continuous international exposure and franchise leagues have now developed him into a formidable player at par with other fast-bowling all-rounders – modern-day cricket’s most prized asset – reinforcing the fact that Afghanistan are no longer underdogs.

It may take a huge slice of fortune for Afghanistan to stay in the reckoning in this tournament. But they will be back at this level soon enough. And it will be the likes of Omarzai who will be out to prove that they are world-beaters and not just a feel-good story. He provided plenty of proof of doing that on Monday.

Brief Scores: UAE 160/9 in 20 overs (Sohaib Khan 68, Alishan Sharafu 41; Azmatullah Omarzai 4/15) lost to Afghanistan 162/5 in 19.2 overs (Ibrahim Zadran 53, Omarzai 40 not out; Junaid Siddique 2/23) by five wickets.