Nawroz Mangal

Nawroz Mangal, a right-handed batsman who bowls off-break, was Afghanistan's first captain and was responsible for helping them reach new heights when he took up the job in 2007. Under his captaincy, Afghanistan achieved their ODI status in the 2009 World Cup qualifiers and also they qualified for the 2010 World T20 tournament.

Mangal's foray into the world of cricket can be described as dramatic as a Bollywood movie. Taj Malik, the-then Afghanistan coach spotted Mangal and wanted to develop his skills as he believed the youngster had it in him to make it big. However, Mangal's father was totally against the idea of his son joining the world of sports because according to him it was not a means to earn one's livelihood. Malik went to great lengths to convince Mangal senior and finally convinced him of his intentions. Mangal then made his debut for Afghanistan against Nowshehra in the 2001 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy (Grade II).

Mangal made his international debut for Afghanistan against Oman in the 2004 ACC Trophy. He was Afghanistan's leading run-scorer with 271 runs in that tournament. Some strong performances followed and he was appointed as the captain of the national side in the 2007-08 Inter-District Senior Tournament. Mangal led the Afghan team that in under a year won the World Cricket League Division Five, Division Four and Division Three, therefore getting promoted to Division Two and that also resulted in them getting a chance to take part in the 2009 ICC World Cup Qualifiers. He also captained Afghanistan in their maiden First-Class match in the Intercontinental Cup against a Zimbabwe XI. In the same tournament, he scored his maiden First-Class fifty against Ireland with a score of 84.

In February 2010, Mangal made his T20I debut against Ireland. In the 2010 World T20 qualifier, Mangal with excellent figures of 3/23 led Afghanistan to a victory over Ireland in the finals and helped them to qualify for the 2010 T20 World Cup. Many other noteworthy performances in First-Class cricket followed.

In October 2010, Mangal hit his maiden First-Class century against Kenya, making 168 runs, an innings instrumental in an epic 167-run victory by Afghanistan. However in November 2010, Mangal was relieved of his captaincy and was replaced by Mohammad Nabi. The Afghanistan Cricket Board stated that they believe the burden of captaincy was too heavy for Mangal and he should be concentrating on his batting skills instead.

The loss of captaincy, however, has not deterred Mangal. He continues to churn out brilliant performances and is an integral part of the national side. Mangal hit his maiden ODI ton in March 2013 against Scotland. He scored an unbeaten 112 which allowed his team to a seven-wicket win and was also adjudged as the Man of the Match in that game.

Mangal is an integral part of the Afghanistan squad for the 2015 World Cup. His good run of form with the bat have made him one of the most important batsmen in the team. In the build-up to the World Cup, he scored some fine fifties against the domestic teams from Australia and New Zealand. Apart from that, he also made a blazing ton against UAE in Novemeber 2014, his second century in ODIs.

By Sonali Dhulap and Sidhant Maheshwari