আফিফ হোসেন

Bangladesh's premier sports institute Bangladesh Krira Shikkha Protishtan (BKSP) has produced some of Bangladesh's best players. Afif Hossain is yet another pupil from the prestigious establishment. He struck headlines when he became the youngest player to take a T20 fifer on debut playing for Rajshahi Kings and ended up being the Man of the Match. The 17-year-old finished with figures of 5/21 which also involved the big wicket of Chris Gayle.

Born in Khulna, Afif made his first-class debut for East Zone in February 2017 and scored a ton in his very first innings against North Zone. He was caught by the Bangladesh Cricket Board for an illegal bowling action. But it was cleared in September 2017 by the board. An explosive batsman who is flexible in his role and more than a useful off-break bowler, Afif is an exciting talent to watch out for.

He made his international debut during the 2019 tour of India and had a good outing in the game that Bangladesh won. As of now, Afif seems like a T20 specialist with his skill set but if he can polish them a bit more and be consistent with the bat, he could find himself in the lower middle order as far as Bangladesh's ODI setup is concerned. For a country that lacks powerhitters, players like Afif will always keep getting chances but it's about how he grabs those opportunities that will define him.

By Abhinand Raghavendran