IPL 2020: 15-year-old Afghan sensation Noor Ahmad set to make waves in IPL auction

Bengaluru, December 15: The IPL 2020 auction will see an exciting young talent from Afghanistan in the pool and possibly there could be a bid too for him. He is 15-year-old sensation Noor Ahmad Lakanwal, a left-arm wrist spinner.

Ahmad was called for a trial by Rajasthan Royals in the first week of December along with Navin ul Haq and Rahmanullah Gurbaz, who have already played white ball cricket for Afghanistan.

Ahmad hogged limelight in the recent ACC Under-19 Asia Cup when he picked up for 4 wickets for 14 runs against India. He was also part of Afghanistan Under-19 team that toured India in November. India had won the series 3-2 but Ahmad made a good impression taking nine wickets.

Apart from Ahmad, six Afghan players have registered for IPL auction and they are: Mohammad Sahazad, Zahir Khan, Karim Janat, Waqar Salamkheil, Qais Ahmad, Navin ul Haq. The IPL auction 2020 is scheduled to be held in Kolkata on December 19.

"Ahmad is an exciting prospect. As a chinaman bowler many teams will be interested in him in the IPL auction and he has impressed in recent times in Under-19 cricket, especially when Afghanistan colts toured India. He is a mature kid and hopefully he will climb the ladder," an IPL team official told MyKhel.

The IPL auction has the history of turning the fortunes of several lesser known players like Varun Chakravarthy, KC Cariappa in the past. Can Ahmad join the ranks? Signs tell us so.