A green-eyed left-arm spinner from Afghanistan, Sharafuddin Ashraf first caught the public eye when the Afghanistan side that he was part of pulverized Australia in the 2014 U-19 World Cup.

With a limited crop of young cricketers in the nation, the young man was handed an international debut against Zimbabwe a few months after the World Cup. Upon touching the shores of the country, he took full advantage of the slower wickets and crushed the Zimbabwe A side with 6/29 in the practice match. He was subsequently picked for the ODIs and performed admirably as the Afghans drew the series.