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 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 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
ODI shirt no.	31
T20I debut (cap 25)	16 March 2014 v Bangladesh
Last T20I	15 September 2019 v Bangladesh
T20I shirt no.	31 (previously 78)
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/–
Medal record Men's Cricket Representing Afghanistan Asian Games 2014 Incheon Team
Source: Cricinfo, 6 October 2020

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]