Amir Hamza (cricketer)

Amir Hamza Hotak is an Afghan cricketer who plays for the Afghanistan national [cricket team]. An all-rounder, Hotak bats right-handed and bowls slow left-arm orthodox.

Career

Hotak was part of the Afghanistan national [under-19 cricket team|Afghanistan Under-19] team which took part in the 2010 ICC Under-19 World Cup in New Zealand. His only appearance in that tournament came against the Papua New Guinea Under-19s. He later made his first-class debut against Canada in the 2011-13 ICC Intercontinental Cup. Hotak later made his One Day International debut in Afghanistan's first One Day International against a List of [International Cricket Council members#Full Members|Full Member Test-playing nation], when they played Pakistan at Sharjah in February 2012. Batting at number ten, Hotak was dismissed for a six ball duck by Wahab Riaz in Afghanistan's innings of 195, while in Pakistan's innings he bowled four wicketless overs, conceding 22 runs. Pakistan won the encounter by 7 wickets.
He was the leading wicket-taker in the 2018 [Ahmad Shah Abdali 4-day Tournament], finishing with 67 dismissals in ten matches.
In September 2018, he was named in Kandahar's squad in the first edition of the Afghanistan Premier League tournament.

In May 2018, he was named in Afghanistan's squad for their inaugural Test match, played against India, but he was not selected in the final eleven that played the match. In November 2019, he was again named in Afghanistan's Test squad, this time for the one-off match West [Indian cricket team against Afghanistan in India in 2019–20|against the West Indies]. He made his Test debut for Afghanistan, against the West Indies, on 27 November 2019. In the match, he became the first bowler for Afghanistan to take a List of cricketers who have taken [five-wicket hauls on Test debut|five-wicket haul on debut in Tests].