Azmatullah Omarzai is an Afghan cricketer who plays as a right-handed batsman and a right-arm fast-medium bowler. He is an all-rounder who can hit big shots and bowl with pace and accuracy. He made his international debut for Afghanistan in January 2021 and has been a part of the team since then.
Azmatullah Omarzai was born on 24 March 2000 in Nangarhar, Afghanistan. His father, Abdul Qayum, was a farmer and his mother, Zainab, was a homemaker. He has three brothers and two sisters. He belongs to the Omarzai tribe of Afghanistan. He was passionate about cricket since his childhood and his father introduced him to the game when he was nine years old. He studied at Nangarhar High School and later moved to Kabul for higher education.
Azmatullah Omarzai is married to his cousin, Samia Parvin, who is a psychology student at Dhaka University. They tied the knot on 22 March 2019 and have a daughter who was born in November 2020. He follows Islam and his hobbies include fishing, playing video games and watching movies. His favourite quote is "Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard."
Azmatullah Omarzai started playing cricket as a batsman and bowler and joined the Afghanistan Cricket Board's academy in 2015. He played for the Afghanistan under-15 and under-17 teams before making his first-class debut for Mis Ainak Region in the 2017 Ahmad Shah Abdali 4-day Tournament on 1 March 2017. He made his List A debut for Mis Ainak Region in the 2017 Ghazi Amanullah Khan Regional One Day Tournament on 10 August 2017 He was the leading run-scorer for Mis Ainak Region in the 2017 Ahmad Shah Abdali 4-day Tournament, with 612 runs in seven matches. He also took 12 wickets in the tournament. He made his Twenty20 debut for Mis Ainak Knights in the 2017 Shpageeza Cricket League on 14 September 2017 In November 2019, he was selected to play for the Rajshahi Rangers in the Bangladesh Premier League. He made his Twenty20 debut for Rajshahi Rangers in the Bangladesh Premier League on 25 November 2019.
Azmatullah Omarzai was named in Afghanistan's squad for the 2018 Under-19 Cricket World Cup. He scored an unbeaten century in the final of the 2017 ACC Under-19 Asia Cup and helped Afghanistan to win their maiden ACC Under-19 Cup title. In December 2018, he was named in Afghanistan's under-23 team for the 2018 ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup. In November 2019, he was named in Afghanistan's squad for the 2019 ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup in Bangladesh. In February 2020, he was named in Afghanistan's Twenty20 International (T20I) squad for their series against Ireland. In January 2021, he was named in Afghanistan's One Day International (ODI) squad for their series against Ireland. He made his ODI debut for Afghanistan, against Ireland, on 21 January 2021. He scored 54 runs off 66 balls and took one wicket in that match and helped Afghanistan win by seven wickets. In March 2021, he made his T20I debut for Afghanistan, against Zimbabwe, on 17 March 2021. He scored 21 runs off 14 balls and took one wicket in that match and helped Afghanistan win by 48 runs.
Azmatullah Omarzai has played 13 ODIs for Afghanistan till date, scoring 137 runs at an average of 22.83. His highest score is 56 against Ireland in January 2021. He has also taken 6 wickets at an average of 59.00. His best bowling figures are 1/17 against Ireland in January 2021.
Azmatullah Omarzai has played 24 T20Is for Afghanistan till date, scoring 185 runs at an average of 16.81. His highest score is 33 against Zimbabwe in September 2019. He has also taken 11 wickets at an average of 41.36. His best bowling figures are 3/22 against Zimbabwe in September 2019.
Azmatullah Omarzai has not played any Test matches for Afghanistan till date.
Azmatullah Omarzai has not captained Afghanistan in any format of the game. He has, however, led Mis Ainak Region and Rajshahi Rangers in domestic cricket.
Azmatullah Omarzai was fined 15 percent of his match fee for showing dissent at an umpire's decision during an ODI against Ireland in January 2021. He was also reprimanded for using inappropriate language during a T20I against Zimbabwe in March 2021.