Najeeb Tarakai

Najeeb Tarakai (2 February 1991 – 6 October 2020) was an Afghan cricketer who played international cricket for the Afghanistan team.^[1] He played in twelve Twenty20 International matches and a One Day International fixture.^[2] Tarakai made his international debut at the 2014 ICC World Twenty20 tournament in Bangladesh.^[3] In domestic cricket, he scored more than 2,000 runs in first-class matches.^[4] He was also part of the Afghan team that won the silver medal in the cricket tournament at the 2014 Asian Games.^[5]

Najeeb Tarakai

Personal information
Born	(1991-02-02)2 February 1991 Kabul, Afghanistan
Died	6 October 2020(2020-10-06) (aged 29) Jalalabad, Afghanistan
Batting	Right-handed
Bowling	Right-arm off break
Role	Opening batsman
International information
National side	Afghanistan (2014–2019)
Only ODI (cap 42)	24 March 2017 v Ireland
T20I debut (cap 25)	16 March 2014 v Bangladesh
Last T20I	15 September 2019 v Bangladesh
Domestic team information
Years	Team
2011/12	Afghan Cheetahs
2017	Boost Defenders
2017/18	Amo Sharks
2017/18–2019/20	Spin Ghar Tigers
2018/19–2019	Nangarhar Leopards
Career statistics
Competition ODI T20I FC LA Matches 1 12 24 17 Runs scored 5 258 2,030 553 Batting average 5.00 21.50 47.20 32.52 100s/50s 0/0 0/1 6/10 1/3 Top score 5 90 200 121 Balls bowled – – 1,449 204 Wickets – – 21 4 Bowling average – – 38.47 36.75 5 wickets in innings – – 0 0 10 wickets in match – – 0 0 Best bowling – – 4/59 2/21 Catches/stumpings 0/– 3/– 21/– 9/–
Source: Cricinfo, 6 October 2020
Medal record Men's Cricket Representing  Afghanistan Asian Games 2014 Incheon Team

Domestic career

Tarakai made his Twenty20 debut for the Afghan Cheetahs in the Faysal Bank Twenty-20 Cup against Rawalpindi Rams. He played in the Cheetahs two other fixtures in that competition, against Faisalabad Wolves and Multan Tigers.^[6] In these three matches, he scored a total of 54 runs at an average of 18.00, with a high score of 34.^[7] In September 2018, he was named in Nangarhar's squad in the first edition of the Afghanistan Premier League tournament.^[8]

He was the leading run-scorer for Speen Ghar Region in the 2018 Ahmad Shah Abdali 4-day Tournament, with 719 runs in ten matches.^[9] He was also the leading run-scorer in the 2019 Ahmad Shah Abdali 4-day Tournament, with 670 runs in five matches, including four centuries in successive games.^[10][11]

International career

He made his debut against Bangladesh in the 2014 ICC World Twenty20 tournament.^[12] He played two Twenty20 International (T20I) matches for Afghanistan in 2014.^[13]

On 10 March 2017 against Ireland, Tarakai scored 90 runs during the second T20I at Greater Noida. His match-winning performance along with the bowling performance by Rashid Khan, brought him his maiden man of the match award.^[14]

He made his One Day International (ODI) debut for Afghanistan against Ireland at the Greater Noida Sports Complex Ground on 24 March 2017.^[15]

Death

On 2 October 2020, Tarakai sustained a severe head injury after being hit by a motorist while crossing a road in Jalalabad.^[16] He was taken to a hospital in Nangarhar and underwent surgery while in a coma.^[17] He died four days later on 6 October 2020, with his death being confirmed by the Afghanistan Cricket Board.^[18][19]

References

1. "Najeeb Tarakai passes away after accident". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
2. "Afghanistan batsman Najeeb Tarakai passes away after road accident". Sport Star. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
3. "Afghanistan cricketer Najeeb Tarakai dies following road accident". Tribune India. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
4. "Najeeb Tarakai, Afghanistan cricketer who was injured in car accident, dies; ACB mourns death". Zee News. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
5. "Sri Lanka thrash Afghanistan by 68 runs to win gold medal at Asian Games 2014". Cricket Country. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
6. "Twenty20 Matches played by Najib Taraki". CricketArchive. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
7. "Twenty20 Batting and Fielding For Each Team by Najib Taraki". CricketArchive. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
8. "Afghanistan Premier League 2018 – All you need to know from the player draft". CricTracker. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
9. "Alokozay Ahmad Shah Abdali 4-day Tournament, 2018, Speen Ghar Region: Batting and bowling averages". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
10. "Records: Ahmad Shah Abdali 4-day Tournament, 2019, Most runs". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
11. Booth, Lawrence (2021). Wisden Cricketers' Almanack. p. 270. ISBN 9781472975478.
12. "World T20, 1st Match, First Round Group A: Bangladesh v Afghanistan at Dhaka, Mar 16, 2014". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
13. "Najeeb Tarakai". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
14. "Afghanistan tour of India, 2nd T20I: Afghanistan v Ireland at Greater Noida, Mar 10, 2017". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
15. "Afghanistan tour of India, 5th ODI: Afghanistan v Ireland at Greater Noida, Mar 24, 2017". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
16. "Afghanistan opener Najeebullah in critical condition after accident". CricBuzz. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
17. "Afghanistan batsman Najeeb Tarakai dies after road accident". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 13 October 2020.
18. "Afghanistan Cricketer Najeeb Tarakai In Coma After Fatal Road Accident". Cricket Addictor. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
19. "Afghanistan Batsman Najeeb Tarakai Loses Life in Road Accident, Board Mourns Death". News18. Retrieved 5 October 2020.

External links

• Najeeb Tarakai at ESPNcricinfo