Gulbadin Naib

Who is Gulbadin Naib?

Gulbadin Naib is a veteran Afghan all-rounder and a former ODI captain who led Afghanistan at the 2019 World Cup.

He bowls medium pace with variations, hits hard in the lower middle order and is known for his energy in the field. He played a part in Afghanistan's run to the 2024 T20 World Cup semi-finals, including a key spell in the win over Australia.

At Team Balkh he is a Gold pick and adds experience and all-round depth to Ibrahim Zadran's side.

Gulbadin has played 88 T20 internationals and 89 ODIs for Afghanistan. In T20 internationals he has 1,084 T20I runs at a strike rate of 121.66 and 35 T20I wickets at an economy of 7.96.

Gulbadin Naib's role at Team Balkh

As a Gold-category pick, Gulbadin is one of the core players Team Balkh built its squad around after captain Ibrahim Zadran. Other all-rounders in the squad include Moeen Ali, Abdullah Tarakhail and Colin Ackermann.

T20 record explained

With the bat, Gulbadin scores at a strike rate of 132.74 in T20 cricket, which is attacking by T20 standards, and averages 22.36. He has hit 124 sixes and 194 fours, about one six every 1.3 innings. His best is 91, with 0 hundreds and 13 fifties.

With the ball, Gulbadin has taken 102 T20 wickets at an average of 27.56 and an economy rate of 8.47, which is on the expensive side, the cost of attacking for wickets for the format. He strikes once every 19.5 balls, has 3 four-wicket and 0 five-wicket hauls, and his best figures are 4/12. He bowls right arm medium fast.

Gulbadin Naib batting stats

Gulbadin Naib bowling stats

"All T20s" covers T20 internationals plus domestic and franchise T20 cricket. Stats from EntitySport, refreshed daily.

How UAE conditions suit him

UAE pitches can be slow, so pace bowlers rely on early swing with the new ball, cutters and change of pace. Most APL games start at 7:30 PM GST, and dew later in the evening can help batting sides chase, which puts extra value on accurate death bowling.

Team Balkh fixtures

Where to watch Gulbadin Naib in the league stage (tentative, times in GST). Full dates on the APL 2026-27 schedule.

Match	Date	Opponent	Venue
1	Sun, 27 Dec, 7:30 PM	Team PaktiaPAK	Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah
4	Wed, 30 Dec, 7:30 PM	Kandahar WarriorsKAN	Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah
7	Fri, 1 Jan, 7:30 PM	Akcel United KabulKAB	Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah
8	Sat, 2 Jan, 3:30 PM	Nangarhar CosmicNAN	Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
11	Mon, 4 Jan, 7:30 PM	Team PaktiaPAK	Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
14	Thu, 7 Jan, 7:30 PM	Kandahar WarriorsKAN	Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
18	Sat, 9 Jan, 7:30 PM	Nangarhar CosmicNAN	Dubai International Stadium, Dubai
19	Sun, 10 Jan, 7:30 PM	Akcel United KabulKAB	Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah

Gulbadin Naib FAQs

Last updated 13 November 2026