3 reasons why CSK must target Azmatullah Omarzai in IPL 2025 Auction
Afghanistan's Azmatullah Omarzai is among the best all-rounders in the world at the moment. He showed his class for his country against Bangladesh in the third and final ODI of their series in Sharjah on Monday, November 11 as well.
Batting first, Bangladesh were restricted to a mediocre 244-8 in their quota of 50 overs, thanks largely to Omarzai's figures of 4-37 with the ball. Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Jaker Ali, Soumya Sarkar, and Nasum Ahmed were all his victims.
In reply, Omarzai struck an unbeaten 70 off just 77 balls to help his team get over the line and defeat their opponents by five wickets. He came in to bat at 84-3, when his team was looking in some trouble, and then steered them home.
Omarzai has quickly become one of the most sought-after players in franchise leagues across the world. As he was released by Gujarat Titans in the IPL, Chennai Super Kings (CSK), in fact, may take a liking towards him.
In this listicle, we take a look at three reasons why CSK must target Omarzai in the upcoming auction:
#1 He is a proven match-winner
The biggest reason why CSK must target Omarzai is because he is a proven match-winner in this format of the game. He has long been one of the most dangerous all-round cricketers to come out of Afghanistan and is highly revered.
Although his strike rate of 134 in T20s does not put him among the extraordinary bracket of cricketers, it gives him enough ammunition to stake his claim in the best franchise teams in the world, and CSK are just that.
Omarzai also has 101 wickets to his name in 112 T20 matches, and this is bound to make him seem immensely attractive to the CSK team management. While his economy is a tad high at 8.28, his average of 27 with the ball is impressive.
#2 He is a good spin-hitter
Another major reason why CSK must queue up for Omarzai is because of the fact that he is an excellent hitter against spin. This is an important quality to have on the dusty, turning pitches of Chepauk, and if he is able to ingratiate himself with the team management, he can turn quite a few heads.
Omarzai comes to bat in the lower middle order, and has to more often than not go for it straight away. This quality of his, along with his ability to play spin well, will come in handy in Chennai, and allow him to maximize his potential. Omarzai can end up becoming one of the most loved cricketers in Chennai.
#3 He has a lot of variations up his sleeve
With the ball in hand, Omarzai has a lot of variations up his sleeve, and this can work in his favor a lot in the IPL if CSK go for him. As mentioned earlier, the pitches at Chepauk are often expected to be dusty, slow and rank turners.
The 24-year-old has a lot of slower deliveries as well as cutters in his armoury, and this will make him a dangerous proponent to face as a batter. Any bowler who can bring out his variations will be seen as a big threat in Chennai.
Omarzai can be effective both with the new ball as well as when it gets old. He is known to roll his fingers over the ball whenever batters try to target him and induce them to play shots in the air, which invariably get caught in the deep.