Hosts India, in only their second-ever Test match against Afghanistan, have put themselves in a commanding position on Day 2 of the one-off Test at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur, with centuries from Shubman Gill and KL Rahul taking India’s first-innings total past 500.
While the Afghanistan bowling attack looked clueless against the Indian batters, they still managed to find a silver lining in the form of their 23-year-old pacer Saleem Safi, who, with the wicket of Manav Suthar on Sunday, became the first Afghanistan bowler to take a five-wicket haul against India in Tests.
Saleem, who went wicketless in his Test debut against Sri Lanka, performed with brilliant consistency and added big names like Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan to his wicket column in Mullanpur.
Saleem finished his spell at 6 for 140 as India declared their innings at 564 for 8.
Who is Saleem Safi?
Mohammad Saleem Safi is a 23-year-old Afghan fast bowler who has represented Afghanistan across all three international formats. Born in Kabul on September 9, 2002, Saleem is a right-arm pacer known for his ability to generate pace and movement with the new ball.
He rose through Afghanistan’s domestic cricket structure before making his first-class debut for Kunduz Province in 2019. Over the following years, he featured in List A and T20 competitions, earning recognition as one of Afghanistan’s promising fast-bowling prospects.
Saleem was first included in Afghanistan’s Test squad for the Zimbabwe series in 2021 and remained on the selectors’ radar through several international assignments.
He eventually made his ODI debut against Bangladesh in July 2023, followed by his T20I debut against India in January 2024 and his Test debut against Sri Lanka in February 2024.
Saleem Safi career in numbers
Saleem’s international career is still in its early stages, but he has already represented Afghanistan in all three formats. He made his ODI debut against Bangladesh on July 5, 2023, and played two ODIs in that series.
His lone T20I appearance came against India on January 17, 2024, before he earned his Test cap against Sri Lanka on February 2, 2024.
At the domestic level, Saleem has played first-class, List A and T20 cricket since 2019. After making his first-class debut for Kunduz Province, he went on to represent Amo Region in List A cricket and Boost Defenders in the Shpageeza Cricket League.
His consistent performances in domestic competitions helped him break into the national setup, making him one of Afghanistan’s emerging pace-bowling options in international cricket.
Saleem Safi bowling stats:
Format
Mat
Inns
Wkts
Avg
Econ
SR
BBI
4W
5W
Test
2
2
6
30
4.84
37.17
6/123
0
1
ODI
2
2
0
–
6.77
–
0/34
0
0
T20I
1
1
0
–
14.33
–
0/43
0
0
Overall
5
5
6
48.83
5.8
50.5
6/123
0
1
