Before the IPL Auction 2025 every team just knew that Afghanistan’s chinaman bowler Noor Ahmad was a rare commodity, a special talent, and would have been happy to get him for INR 3-4 Cr. But when CSK bagged him 10 Cr, some teams might have just celebrated for them overpaying, while others would have been scratching their heads at this decision.
Noor Ahmad — CSK’s New Star in the Making
It seems only MS Dhoni, Kasi Viswanathan, skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad and the CSK think tank knew the true potential of this 20-year-old spinner from Khost. It is not like he had exceptional record in the IPL so far, in 24 matches he had 26 wickets at an average of 25, and an economy rate of just under 8; but these learned men knew, what he could do at the slow and gripping surface of Chepauk, Chennai.
— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) March 23, 2025
: I am fast
: I am faster
MSD: Hold my gloves
Nostalgia alert as a young #MSDhoni flashes the bails off to send #SuryakumarYadav packing!
FACT: MSD affected the stumping in 0.12 secs!
Watch LIVE action: https://t.co/uN7zJIUsn1 #IPLonJioStar#CSKvMI, LIVE NOW on… pic.twitter.com/oRzRt3XUvC
Afghani Wrist Spinner Bamboozles MI
So, when Noor Ahmad returned with figures of 4/18 — and removed the likes of Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Robin Minz, and Naman Dhir, it would have come as no surprise. Just to give an account of what this tweaker can really do — he has 150 wickets in 132 T20s, at a modest economy of 7.14.
His wicket of MI stand-in skipper Surya, kind of brought back memories of MS Dhoni-Kuldeep Yadav magic, where the batter completely misjudges the trajectory of the ball. Just to elaborate this a bit further, the batter drew forward for a drive, was flummoxed by the wrong one, and Dhoni just completed the stumping in a flash.
One of the Best in CSK vs MI Matches
His spell of 4/18 is also one of the best in the MI vs CSK history. Noor is tied fourth with Trent Boult, who too had produced figures of 4/18, albeit for MI vs CSK in 2020. The best was by Harbhajan Singh, 5/18, for MI in 2011.
- 5/18 – Harbhajan Singh (MI, 2011)
- 5/32 – Lasith Malinga (MI, 2012)
- 4/14 – Mohit Sharma (CSK, 2014)
- 4/18 – Trent Boult (MI, 2020)
- 4/18 – Noor Ahmad (CSK, 2025)
Now after two seasons of IPL, the Afghani has found his grounding in the league, and under the aegis of Dhoni, will even become more threatening. And without any iota of doubt, all the teams need to be extra careful.
