Mohammad Nabi facts for kids
Nabi in 2014
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| Full name |
Mohammad Nabi Eisakhil
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| Born | 1 January 1985 Logar, Afghanistan |
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| Nickname | The President, Mr. President | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Batting | Right-handed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling | Right-arm off spin | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Role | All-rounder | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National side |
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| Test debut (cap 5) | 14 June 2018 v India | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last Test | 5 September 2019 v Bangladesh | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ODI debut (cap 7) | 19 April 2009 v Scotland | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last ODI | 28 February 2025 v Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ODI shirt no. | 7 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| T20I debut (cap 5) | 1 February 2010 v Ireland | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last T20I | 14 December 2024 v Zimbabwe | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| T20I shirt no. | 7 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Domestic team information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2007/08–2009/10 | Pakistan Customs cricket team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2013/14–2014/15 | Mohammedan Sporting Club | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2017–2021 | Sunrisers Hyderabad | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2017/18–2021/22 | Melbourne Renegades | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021–2022; 2025 | Karachi Kings | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Source: ESPNcricinfo, 17 May 2025
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Mohammad Nabi Eisakhil (Pashto: محمد نبي عیسی خېل; born 1 January 1985) is a famous cricketer from Afghanistan. He used to be the captain of the Afghanistan national cricket team. Nabi is known as an "all-rounder" because he is great at both batting (hitting the ball) and bowling (throwing the ball). He bats right-handed and bowls a type of spin called "off-break."
Nabi played a huge part in helping Afghanistan's cricket team become one of the top teams in the world. He was there for their very first One Day International (ODI) match in April 2009 and their first Test match in June 2018. He also played in Afghanistan's first Twenty20 International (T20I) game in 2010. He led the team as captain in the 2014 Asia Cup and the 2015 Cricket World Cup. Nabi has also played in many Twenty20 cricket leagues around the world. He was the first player from Afghanistan to be chosen in the Indian Premier League (IPL) player auction. As of June 2024, Nabi has helped Afghanistan defeat 45 different countries in international cricket.
In September 2019, Nabi decided to stop playing Test cricket. He wanted to focus on playing in shorter games, like ODIs and T20Is. In August 2020, Nabi became a member of the Afghanistan Cricket Board, which helps manage cricket in Afghanistan.
Contents
Early Life in Cricket
Nabi was born in Logar Province in Afghanistan. His family had to move to Peshawar in Pakistan to escape the Soviet–Afghan War. He started playing cricket in Peshawar when he was 10 years old.
In 2000, his family moved back to Afghanistan. There, he started playing cricket with friends like Mohammad Shahzad, Asghar Afghan, and Shapoor Zadran. These friends later became important players for the Afghan national team. Nabi played his first official match in 2003 for an Afghanistan team. Even though his team did not do well, Nabi scored the most runs with 61. Back then, Afghanistan did not have its own cricket gear, so they had to buy it from Pakistan and India.
In 2006, Nabi played for Afghanistan against the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) in India. He scored 116 runs, helping Afghanistan win by a lot. This caught the eye of former English captain Mike Gatting. Nabi then joined the MCC's Young Cricketers program in England. While with the MCC, Nabi played his first first-class match in 2007. He scored 43 runs in his first turn at bat. After this, he played domestic cricket in Pakistan.
Afghanistan's Rise in Cricket
Becoming an ODI Team (2008–2009)
Mohammad Nabi was a key player in Afghanistan's amazing journey from a low-level cricket team to a team with One Day International (ODI) status. This journey started in the 2008 ICC World Cricket League Division Five, which Afghanistan won. Nabi played in all seven matches, scoring 108 runs and taking 10 wickets.
Afghanistan also won the 2008 ICC World Cricket League Division Four. Nabi was named the best player of the tournament. He took 14 wickets and scored 154 runs.
Nabi was also part of the team that won the 2009 ICC World Cricket League Division Three. This win helped them move on to the 2009 Cricket World Cup Qualifier. Even though Afghanistan did not qualify for the 2011 Cricket World Cup, they did earn ODI status. Their last match in the tournament, against Scotland, was Afghanistan's first-ever ODI. Nabi scored 58 runs, which was his first half-century in an ODI, and was named the best player of the match.
Early International Games (2009–2013)
Nabi played his first first-class match for Afghanistan in the 2009–10 ICC Intercontinental Cup. He scored a century (100 runs) and took 3 wickets. He continued to be an important player in this tournament. He also helped Afghanistan qualify for the 2010 ICC World Twenty20.
Nabi was a strong player and the vice-captain. When the captain, Nawroz Mangal, was replaced before the 2010 Asian Games, Nabi became Afghanistan's captain. Afghanistan finished second in the Asian Games, losing to Bangladesh in the final. Nabi did not remain captain after these games.
Leading the Team (2013–2015)
In March 2013, the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) announced that Nabi would lead the national team again. He became captain for the ICC Intercontinental Cup in the UAE. Under his leadership, Afghanistan played in the 2014 Asia Cup, which was their first big international ODI tournament. During this tournament, they defeated Bangladesh.
Nabi remained captain through the 2014 ICC World Twenty20 and the 2015 Cricket World Cup. However, due to his own poor performance and the team winning only one match in the World Cup, he stepped down as captain in April 2015.
After Captaincy (2015–Present)
Nabi's performance improved a lot after he stopped being captain. This happened during Afghanistan's ODI series against Zimbabwe. The team's new coach, Inzamam-ul-Haq, moved Nabi higher up the batting order. Nabi then scored his first ODI century and a total of 223 runs in the series. He was named the best player of the series. Afghanistan won the series 3–2, which was a big achievement. It was the first time a lower-ranked team had beaten a full member team in a series.
Nabi played a big role in the 2016 ICC World Twenty20. He helped Afghanistan win against Hong Kong and Zimbabwe, allowing them to move to the next round. Nabi was the best player in both these matches. He also played well against England, where Afghanistan almost caused a big upset.
In May 2018, Nabi was part of Afghanistan's first-ever Test match squad against India. He made his Test debut on 14 June 2018. In February 2019, he was in the Test squad for a match against Ireland. In a T20I match against Ireland in 2019, he scored 49 runs and took 2 wickets, earning him the "man of the match" award. In another T20I against Ireland, Nabi scored 81 runs and bowled well, helping his team win the match and the series.
In April 2019, he was chosen for Afghanistan's squad for the 2019 Cricket World Cup. On 29 June 2019, in a match against Pakistan, Nabi took his 200th wicket in international cricket. He was Afghanistan's top wicket-taker in the tournament, with ten wickets in nine matches.
During a Test match against Bangladesh in 2019, he announced he was retiring from Test cricket. He wanted to focus on playing in shorter "white-ball" games. In September 2021, he was named captain of Afghanistan's squad for the 2021 ICC Men's T20 World Cup.
He stepped down as captain after the 2022 ICC Men's T20 World Cup. This was due to disagreements with the team management and feeling frustrated with how the team was getting ready for games. He was even left out of Afghanistan's T20I squad for a series against the UAE. However, in March 2023, he returned to the T20I squad for a series against Pakistan. On 24 March 2023, in the first T20I, he scored 38 runs and took 2 wickets. His great all-round performance helped Afghanistan win against Pakistan for the first time ever in international cricket.
On 12 March 2024, he took his first five-wicket haul (taking five wickets in one game) in ODI cricket, playing against Ireland. In May 2024, he was named in Afghanistan’s squad for the 2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup tournament.
Playing in Leagues Around the World
Nabi has played in many Twenty20 cricket leagues globally. These include the Bangladesh Premier League, Pakistan Super League, Indian Premier League, Caribbean Premier League, Big Bash League, and the Afghanistan Premier League. He was the first player from Afghanistan to be bought in the IPL player auction.
Bangladesh Premier League
Nabi first played in the Bangladesh Premier League in 2013 for the Sylhet Royals. He did very well, especially with his bowling at the start of games. He finished as his team's top wicket-taker with 18 wickets.
He later played for the Rangpur Riders in 2015. In 2016, he joined the Chittagong Vikings. He had a lot of success, taking 19 wickets and scoring his highest BPL score of 87 not out. He then played for the Comilla Victorians in 2017. In November 2019, he was chosen to play for the Rangpur Rangers. In the 2025 BPL season, he joined the Fortune Barishal team.
Pakistan Super League
Nabi played for the Quetta Gladiators in the first season of the Pakistan Super League in 2016. In his last match for the tournament, he scored 30 runs off just 12 balls, including hitting 4 runs on the very last ball to win the game for his team. Nabi left the tournament early to play for Afghanistan and was replaced by another player. Nabi later signed with the Karachi Kings in 2021 and again in 2022.
Indian Premier League
In the 2017 IPL auction, Nabi made history by becoming the first Afghan player to be bought in the IPL. He joined Sunrisers Hyderabad. He was followed by his Afghan teammate Rashid Khan, who also joined Hyderabad. Nabi played only a few matches in 2017 and 2018. In February 2022, he was bought by the Kolkata Knight Riders for the 2022 IPL tournament.
Other Leagues
In September 2018, he was named in the Balkh team for the first Afghanistan Premier League tournament.
Nabi played for Leicestershire County Cricket Club in England's 2018 t20 Blast. He scored 86 runs off 32 balls in one match, helping his team win. In 2019 and 2020, he signed to play for Kent County Cricket Club in the same competition.
Nabi also played for the Melbourne Renegades in Australia's Big Bash League in 2017–18 and 2018–19. In December 2018, he hit the winning runs against the Adelaide Strikers.
In July 2020, he joined the St Lucia Zouks team for the 2020 Caribbean Premier League. On 27 August 2020, Nabi took his first five-wicket haul in a T20 match.
Amazing Records
- Nabi holds the record for the fastest fifty (50 runs) by an Afghan cricketer in Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is).
- On 15 March 2018, he became the first bowler for Afghanistan to take 100 wickets in One Day Internationals (ODIs).
- In August 2018, he became the first cricketer from Afghanistan to play in 100 ODI matches. This was also the 100th ODI game played by the Afghanistan cricket team.
- Nabi has been part of Afghanistan's wins against 45 different countries in international cricket. This shows how much he has contributed to Afghanistan's success on the world stage.
Fair Play in Cricket
Nabi has had a couple of moments where his actions were questioned regarding fair play in international cricket matches, both times against Ireland.
In an ODI against Ireland in July 2016, there was a play where an Irish batsman was run out. Nabi said he kept the ball inside the boundary line. The umpires believed him, and the batsman was out. However, later pictures showed that Nabi was touching the ball while he was outside the boundary. This meant it should have been four runs, and the batsman should not have been out. Nabi was told that his actions were "contrary to the spirit of the game." He was given a warning. Afghanistan still won the match.
Another incident happened in a first-class match against Ireland in March 2017. Nabi celebrated catching a ball and asked the umpire to rule the batsman out, even though the ball had clearly hit the ground first. Again, he was found to have acted against the spirit of the game and received a demerit point. Afghanistan won this match by a large margin.
Personal Life
Mohammad Nabi is the father of another Afghan cricketer, Hassan Eisakhil.
