3 teams who should target Azmatullah Omarzai for IPL 2024 ft. Royal Challengers Bangalore
Fast bowling all-rounders who can bat in the top 5 of the batting line-up are the rarest of the rarest commodities, but not for Afghanistan, as they have found a proper talent in Azmatullah Omarzai.
Omarzai has scored 203 runs at an average of 50.75 besides picking up five wickets with a 48.9 dot ball percentage in the middle overs in the ongoing World Cup. He has been the go-to man for Afghanistan skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi with his knack for picking up wickets.
Before the World Cup began, Afghanistan had two glaring issues to ponder - not having enough firepower in the middle overs with their designated No. 3 and 4, Rahmat Shah and Hashmatullah Shahidi having their career strike rate under 75.
Azmatullah Omarzai solved this issue and how? He has batted with a positive approach and a strike rate of 90+, irrespective of when his team is batting. Batting first, he scores at an average of 34.3, while he averages 100 in the second innings.
The second problem for Afghanistan was to ensure that the work done by their spinners wasn't undone. Azmatullah Omarzai was primarily used in the 11–40 overs phase, where Afghanistan find themselves the fourth-best team in terms of economy and bowling average.
He did get hammered in the death overs, but in the middle overs, he has been nothing short of a revelation for Afghanistan.
With IPL auctions around the corner, all IPL teams would be keeping a close eye on this Afghanistani all-rounder to rope him in for the upcoming season.
In this article, we will look at some of the probable teams that might be interested in Azmatullah Omarzai for the IPL 2024 auctions.
#3 SunRisers Hyderabad
With the kind of squad SunrRisers Hyderabad (SRH) managed to assemble in IPL 2023, it was kind of a shocker of a result for finishing with the wooden spoon.
With them already having the services of one of the fiercest all-rounders going around in Marco Jansen, one would wonder why they would even look for another option.
But if one looks at the history of Jensen, one would know that he is injury-prone. Thus, SRH would not want to have a Kolkata Knight Riders-like situation where the absence of a certain Andre Russell disturbs the balance of the structure.
And Azmatullah Omarzai can be a perfect backup for the lanky all-rounder from South Africa and even feature together in the XI, elongating the batting order.
#2 Royal Challengers Bangalore
A team that always look to go after multi-faceted players would most likely want to rope in Azmatullah Omarzai to bolster their already strong all-round department.
With the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) lacking in spin bashers last season, they would like someone like Omarzai to go after the spinners, with him giving 2-3 overs when needed.
His speed variations might come in handy on two-paced surfaces and can be a perfect backup for David Willey if the latter is retained.
#1 Rajasthan Royals
The Rajasthan Royals were pegged behind last season, and a lack of contribution from No.7 haunted them the most.
With them going for a 6–5 combination, the role of No. 7 becomes invaluable for their structure. They tried everything and everyone in that position but to no avail.
Thus, they might be having a very close look at Azmatullah Omarzai to slot him in that position, and they might spend huge chunks of money in case of a bidding war.