Aayan Afzal Khan

Profile details

FULL NAME

Aayan Afzal Khan

TEAMS

Dubai Capitals

The UAE spinner with an ILT20 record

Aayan Afzal Khan was born on 15 November 2005 in Margao, Goa, and plays international cricket for the United Arab Emirates, making his ODI debut against Nepal on 14 November 2022. He was the youngest player at a T20 World Cup when he appeared for the UAE as a teenager, and he has been a regular in the national side since, taking wickets with his slow left-arm orthodox spin and scoring useful runs down the order.

• Role: All-rounder
• Team: Dubai Capitals
• Batting: Right-handed
• Bowling: Slow left-arm orthodox
• Born: 15 November 2005, Margao, Goa

His ILT20 story started with Gulf Giants, where his 4 for 16 remains the best figures by a UAE bowler in the league's history. He has also turned out for Montreal Tigers and Deccan Gladiators in franchise cricket, and his ODI bowling includes a best of 5 for 34. For a 20-year-old, the record is already substantial: more than 60 ODI wickets and a reputation as the UAE's most reliable young spinner.

Why the Capitals bought him

Dubai Capitals paid $95,000 for Aayan at the 1 October 2026 auction, one of the biggest fees for a UAE player in the sale. He was signed to do two jobs: bowl his full four overs on Dubai's pitches, where his accuracy and changes of pace are hard to hit, and lengthen a batting order that already has plenty of power at the top. In a squad full of overseas stars, he is one of the local players the league's rules make most valuable.

His likely role is the second spinner alongside Noor Ahmad, with the pair able to bowl in tandem through the middle overs and squeeze sides that try to rebuild. If the Capitals play two spinners in Dubai, Aayan's place is the one to watch — his economy and his record at this ground give him a genuine claim on a starting spot, not just a squad place.

The spin pair the champions are building around

Noor Ahmad's left-arm wrist-spin is the headline act, but a wrist-spinner needs a partner who holds an end, and that is Aayan's job. Between them they give Faf du Plessis ten overs of left-arm spin with two completely different problems for batters: Noor's turn and mystery, Aayan's control and drift. On a slow Dubai surface that pair can decide a low-scoring game on its own.

What’s next

His first game in Capitals colours comes at home, and it is a useful first test: Abu Dhabi Knight Riders on Sunday 22 November, in the evening in Dubai.

• Match 3 — vs Abu Dhabi Knight Riders: Sunday 22 November 2026, evening session, Dubai.
• Match 6 — vs Desert Vipers: Wednesday 25 November 2026, evening session, Dubai.
• Match 8 — vs Sharjah Warriorz: Friday 27 November 2026, evening session, Sharjah.

Qualifier 1 is on Tuesday 16 December, the Eliminator on Wednesday 17 December, Qualifier 2 on Friday 18 December in Sharjah, and the final on Sunday 20 December in Dubai.

The full list of every ILT20 fixture is on the ILT20 Schedule page. Follow every result as it happens on SialTV, with the points table updated after every match day.