Gulbadin Naib was born in Puli Alam in the Logar Province of Afghanistan. He made his debut for Afghanistan against Japan in the 2008 World Cricket League Division Five, where he made five appearances. He took part in the documentary "Out of the Ashes" which followed the team's preparation for the tournament and their lives back in Afghanistan; Naib is shown body building in a Kabul gym and stating Arnold Schwarzenegger to be one of his inspirations. Two years after the filming of the documentary, following which Naib lost his place in the Afghan side, he was selected as part of Afghanistan's squad for the 2010 Asian Games, playing a single match in the games against Hong Kong. Afghanistan won the silver medal in the competition. He made his List A debut for Afghanistan when they became the first side to tour Pakistan since the 2009 attack on the Sri Lanka national cricket team. Naib played in two of the three unofficial One Day Internationals (ODIs) against Pakistan A.