Shariz Ahmad

A product of South-Amsterdam club Groen & Wit, where he grew up playing alongside his father Nadeem and elder brother Musa, diminutive wrist-spinner Shariz Ahmad was already catching plenty of attention coming up through the ranks of the Dutch youth and academy system, top wicket-taker for the Dutch in their 2021 under-19 qualifying campaign. But the teenager really came into his own after following his brother to to Voorburg CC the following year, drawn by top-division competition and the chance to play on turf.

He earned his first national cap in the same year and as with many of his generation he was thrown in at the deep end onf international cricket, his senior debut coming against the West Indies in the ODI Super League where he made Kyle Mayers his first international scalp in a creditable spell of 1-28. A short format call-up followed for the 2022 T20 World Cup Qualifier, though despite a creditable return across the tournament of four wickets for 79 at an economy a shade over six, he would miss the cut for the tournament itself.

Domestically Ahmad continued to dominate however, taking 31 wickets in his debut season for Voorburg before topping the wicket-taking table in the 2023 Topklasse season with 47. His best showing for the national team also came in 2023, taking a maiden ODI five wicket haul against Zimbabwe on the Netherlands’ final Super League tour. With stock ball googlies coming in quickly at a tricky angle, Ahmad has shown the ability to trouble world class bats. A livewire in the field with a deceptively strong arm, though Ahmad has yet to deliver with the bat at the international level, his domestic numbers suggest the youngster has potential to develop into an effective all-round asset for the Dutch.