Raees Ahmadzai

Raees Ahmadzai is a former Afghan cricketer who retired in May 2010. He was part of the Afghanistan team that advanced to the 2009 ICC World Cup Qualifiers and subsequently gained ODI status. Ahmadzai made his ODI debut against Scotland, in which he scored 39 runs and contributed to Afghanistan's first-ever ODI victory by 39 runs.

Throughout his career, Raees represented Afghanistan in 5 ODIs and 8 T20Is. He was also a member of Afghanistan's victorious squad in the 2010 ICC World T20 Qualifier and was later selected for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2010. Shortly after participating in the ICC T20 World Cup in 2010, Ahmadzai announced his retirement from cricket, aiming to focus on developing the next generation of Afghan cricketers.

Since his retirement, he has worked with various junior-level teams across the country. He has coached the National Senior Team, National A Team, National Emerging Team, National U19s (currently), and National U17s teams. Additionally, he has had coaching stints with domestic T20 franchises such as the Speen Ghar Tigers, Mis Ainak Knights, and Amo regions.

During his professional career, Ahmadzai captained the Afghanistan National Team for nearly two years and was the first player to receive the Man of the Match award for Afghanistan. He was also adjudged as the Player of the Match four additional times. Furthermore, he was honored with the Peace and Sports Award in Monaco, becoming UNICEF's first National Goodwill Ambassador.

Ahmadzai enjoys participating in social and charity activities and is dedicated to supporting the younger generation in cricket. He takes pride in seeing the Afghanistan Cricket Team ranked among the top four teams in the world.

As a board member, he believes that his involvement in Afghanistan cricket from its inception to the present allows him to understand all aspects of the game in the country. He is committed to identifying areas for improvement to foster the growth of the game in Afghanistan.