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Who is Khawaja Nafay? The Right-Hander Who Destroyed Shaheen's Team In PSL 2024

image-lsugypf1Nafay in action vs LQ [X.com]

Khawaja Nafay's exciting and match-winning blitz in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2024 encounter against the Lahore Qalandars brought the spotlight on the rising young Quetta Gladiators batter. 

Nafay, who smashed an unbeaten 60 off just 31 deliveries to propel the Gladiators past Qalandars in a stiff run-chase at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, is capturing the imagination of Pakistan cricket lovers with his apparent raw talent and aggressive streak.

The inexperienced Gladiators No.3 is in discussions among fans and even prominent experts as they were surprised by his fantastic innings and are left wondering now where this 22-year-old maverick with a serious power-hitting base and quality came from.


Who Is Khawaja Nafay?

As far as journeys go, Nafay's has been a very interesting one. It would beg belief, but the exceptional knock against a Qalandars attack featuring leading Pakistan internationals pacer Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf was only Nafay's fifth outing in a competitive domestic T20 match. 

He is a raw gem fast-tracked by coaches mesmerised by his six-hitting abilities at such a young age. The youngster was first spotted on the sidelines of the Kashmir Premier League (KPL) in 2022. Nafay was part of the Overseas Warriors team, and even though he didn't get a game in KPL, he was being observed by talent scouts based in Bangladesh and Pakistan. 

The club cricketer, who has not played any List A and first-class cricket, was soon seen plying his trade in an organised T20 match for the first time with Chattogram Challengers in BPL 2023. His three outings with the Challengers didn't fetch him big runs but acted as a springboard for Karachi Blues to take him under their wings in the Pakistan domestic set-up. 

He played a few friendly fixtures for the Blues before the Gladiators took a leap of faith with the promising cricketer, whom they had spotted via clips on social media. Gladiators took a punt on Nafay at the PSL 2024 draft, and it took the aggressive batter only two innings to earn his first 'Player of the Match' and repay the vote of confidence.