Richmondshire is delighted to announce the re-signing of Afghan sensation Shafiqullah Ghafari for their 2024 North Yorkshire and South Durham League campaign.
The leg-spinner has already earned international recognition courtesy of his exploits at the ICC U19 World Cup in South Africa back in January 2020.
The Afghan sensation was the tournament’s second-leading wicket-taker bagging 16 wickets at 7, all with an economy of 2.45 per over. He opened his U19 campaign against the hosts (South Africa) by taking the best figures by an Afghan bowler in U19 Cricket World Cup history (6-15).
He would go on to impress throughout the tournament taking figures of 5-23 (v UAE), 0-36 (v Pakistan), 1-23 (v Australia), and 4-15 (v South Africa), finishing second to IPL star Ravi Bishnoi (with 17 wickets at 10.64).
The spinner has since played domestic cricket in Afghanistan, either side of COVID. In his 12 Band-e-Amir Region outings in the Ahmad Shah Abdali 4-Day Tournament, Ghafari has bagged 39 wickets at 26.66 and has also scored 293 runs at 18.31 with two half-centuries to evidence his all-round ability.
The all-rounder is a serious prospect for Afghanistan cricket and also proved this during his maiden UK stint in 2022. Playing for Richmondshire in the North Yorkshire and South Durham Premier League, the tweaker excelled taking 100 wickets at 15.39 across league and cup cricket, alongside 424 runs at 14.62.
Ghafari was, without doubt, one of the most talked about spinners in the North East and, after a false start last season is set to return for another Richmondshire stint in 2024.
