Afghanistan's bowling attack has prospered on the strength of its express fast bowlers, but Mirwais Ashraf takes a rather different approach. Though he's tall and muscular, Ashraf bowls military medium pace and relies upon seam movement and nagging accuracy to tie batsmen down. He can prove very difficult to get away in short-format cricket, especially with the wicketkeeper up to the stumps, but he's also enjoyed success in the Intercontinental Cup. His 4 for 24 helped Afghanistan to a one-wicket win over Netherlands on his first class debut in 2009, and he's generally kept things very tidy since then.

Though he's usually located at the lower end of Afghanistan's batting line-up, Ashraf is a competent batsman with first-class and ODI fifties to his name. His athletic frame allows him to hit the ball a long way when he lines one up properly: he hit Albie Morkel for a towering, 91-metre six at the World T20, and won a game against UAE off his own bat in December 2014 with a breezy, run-a-ball fifty.
Liam Brickhill