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Afghanistan all-rounder Azmatullah Omarzai on Friday opened up on becoming the first Afghan player to receive the prestigious 'Men's ODI Cricketer of the Year' award and said that it was a matter of great happiness for him, as reported by ICC.
Earlier in January, during the ICC Awards, Omarzai was named the ICC Men's ODI Cricketer of the Year. The 24-year-old player starred as an all-rounder for Afghanistan in 2024, assisting the team win four of their five ODI series. Featuring in 14 ODIs throughout the year, he amassed 417 runs at an impressive average of 52.12, including a stunning unbeaten 149* against Sri Lanka in Pallekele. He also proved to be a valuable asset with the ball, claiming 17 wickets at an average of 20.47, highlighted by a brilliant spell of 4/18 against Zimbabwe. The consistent displays helped Omarzai become the first-ever Afghan player to become the ICC Men's ODI Cricketer of the Year. "It is a matter of great happiness for me to become the first Afghan player to win the ICC ODI Cricketer of the Year award. This will also be an inspiration for our youth of the future generation. I will try to play better in the future. There is still a lot to achieve," said Omarzai as quoted by ICC. The right-arm seamer finished as Afghanistan's second-highest run-scorer and wicket-taker in 2024, trailing only Rahmanullah Gurbaz and AM Ghazanfar respectively. Omarzai also lauded Rashid Khan, who recently became the leading wicket-taker in T20 cricket. "It is a matter of great happiness that a player emerges from Afghanistan, who creates a world record. We hope that Rashid takes so many wickets that no one can break his record," the fast bowler said. As Afghanistan prepare for their first-ever ICC Champions Trophy campaign, Omarzai reflected on their memorable run at the Men's T20 World Cup last year - a stellar run that saw the team qualify for the semi-finals. Omarzai attributed the achievement to a collective team effort and emphasised the winning mindset within the Afghan dressing room. "Afghanistan has a very good team and the young players are doing well. Our goal is that we have to go and play and win. Whichever team we play against, we just play to win. We have full faith in our skills and support each and that is why we have been very successful for the last two years," Omarzai concluded. (ANI)
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