Aayan Afzal Khan is the youngest player to feature in the T20 World Cup that is ongoing in Australia. Khan, aged 16 years and 335 days, is a member of the United Arab Emirates squad. He played in the group match against the Netherlands, which the European country won by three wickets.

Khan bowled three overs in the match and dished out only 15 runs while collecting one scalp.

Who is Aayan Afzal Khan?

Aayab Afzal Khan was born on November 15, 2005. A slow left-arm orthodox bowler and right-handed batter, Khan is a part of the UAE squad for the 2022 T20 World Cup. He is based out of Sharjah. Khan made his debut for his national side at the age of 16 years and 314 days when the UAE took on Bangladesh at the Dubai International Stadium. In the match, the allrounder managed to take the wicket of Litton Das.

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The teenager was the pillar behind the UAE U-19 side’s victory over the West Indies in the U-19 World Cup earlier this year.

Till date, Khan has played in three T20I matches, having scored 30 runs and taking four wickets in the process. He has played in 34 one-day matches in the domestic circuit, having scored 551 runs in 27 innings, with an average of 26.24 and the highest score of 56. Khan also picked up a total of 53 wickets in the aforementioned matches, with an economy of 3.73

Regarding Khan’s selection in the T20 World Cup squad, the Emirates Cricket Board released a statement saying “While a number of players have been rested for this tour, Robin Singh, director of cricket and national teams’ head coach, is buoyed by the inclusion of a number of the country’s young talent that have proven their worth to wear the country’s flag”.

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“It must be emphasised that UAE cricket’s youth have continued to show their worth at various successful ICC and Asian Cricket [age-group] campaigns, and, it is their time to showcase these proven talents to the cricketing world alongside those [selected] experienced players”, said Robin Singh, the UAE senior team’s head coach.