Ismat Alam is an Afghan right-arm fast-medium all-rounder who was born on February 2, 2002, in Afghanistan’s province of Nangarhar. He is gaining rapid recognition in the genres of red-ball and white-ball cricket in his native country. He is also a right-handed batter.
Beginnings Playing Back Home
In the four-day Speen Ghar Region in November 2022, he made 723 runs in 6 innings to be the leading run-scorer. He averaged 103.23 runs a match with a high score of 263*.
His batting record is strong with a lot of high scores and some hundreds. His first-class bowling has shown some promise too, taking 5 wickets in an innings, and his best bowling was 6/46 in an innings.
Test Results and First Overseas Tour
In a Test against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo on January 2, 2025, a Test cap (Afghanistan No. 37) was awarded to Ismat Alam in a match.
In his debut match, eighth batting and out for a duck in the first innings, and then scoring 101 in the second innings, Vohra was just one of the few players to achieve a debut century from this order of batting.
In that Test match, bowling in his short time yielded no wickets, while batting was very good.
General Statistics and Gameplay
First-Class (FC): Approximately 8 games, 837 runs with over 80 as an average; best innings 263*, with 5 hundreds to date.
List A: Predominantly poor performances; seven games, 133 runs, score in mid-20s; occasional effective bowling.
T20 / National T20s: Decent batting with a few good shots; best score was approximately 39; economy with the ball was fair; potential for development with white-ball formats still present.
Although with bowling having more variety in front of his team, he is generally regarded as a batting all-rounder with more focus on batting, especially across first-class red-ball cricket.
Additional or personal comment
He has a sporting background in the family through cricket; his uncle Aftab Alam and father Taj Malik play the sport.
In challenging circumstances, Ismat registered his first century (No. 8): Afghanistan had lost early in the match, and the innings saved the team.
His success with the red ball back home has given him worldwide recognition, and he is gradually becoming one of Afghanistan’s best red-ball hitters.
Rise of Ismat Alam is significant because he has registered a debut Test century batting so late in the order, an uncommon feat, and domestic batting performances indicate the potential of making him a regular in Afghanistan’s longer formats. His batting potential of surviving and bowling with the ball will be an area of keen interest while more experience is accrued by him, especially in internationals.
About the Author
