Afghanistan’s cricket squad is men’s. Afghanistan’s cricket squad didn’t start doing well till the early 21st century. 1995 established the Afghanistan Cricket Board. It joined the ICC as an affiliate member in 2001 and the Asian Cricket Council in 2003. (ACC). Afghanistan joined the ICC on June 22, 2017, in London after almost a decade of international cricket. Tested. Ireland became the 12th Test cricket participant. It became the first ICC Full Member after being an Affiliate Member. As of January 2021, the squad is ranked ninth in Twenty20 International (T20I) cricket, and their 278/3 against Ireland in Dehradun on February 23, 2019 is the greatest T20I score.
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The Afghanistan cricket team’s international eligibility was in doubt after the Taliban took power in August 2021. On August 15, 2021, the Taliban took over Afghanistan, raising concerns for Afghan cricket players and their families. Three Afghan women’s cricketers fled to Canada by August 31, 2021. Women feared the Taliban’s treatment. Taliban officials announced they will let Afghanistan’s men’s cricket team play their maiden bilateral series against Pakistan in Sri Lanka in September 2021. The Pakistan Cricket Board postponed the tour till 2022 in August 2021. Still no tour by November 2022.
History:
history before ODIs:
In 1839, British military played in Kabul but left no cricket legacy. Cricket-loving Afghan immigrants in Pakistan created the Afghanistan Cricket Board in 1995. Playing cricket at home. The Taliban first allowed cricket in 2000, and the Afghanistan Cricket Federation joined the ICC in 2001. Pakistani cricket, like refugee camps, emphasizes fast deliveries and wrist spin. Pakistani domestic cricket’s second tier invited the national squad the same year. The tour gave international media attention to Afghan cricket during the US-led invasion. The tour included three losses and two ties. In early 2000, the Afghan government wrote to the Pakistan Cricket Board seeking support for an ICC application. Some Afghan refugees learned cricket in Pakistan after the war. Pakistani peacekeepers backed this.
Pakistan hosted four Afghanistan matches in Peshawar and Rawalpindi in 2001, 2003, and 2004. Afghanistan surprised Malaysia in the 2004 Asian Cricket Council Trophy in Kuala Lumpur, the regional qualifying competition for the ICC Trophy. They won their first two 2003 Pakistani tournaments. At the 2004 ACC Trophy, they placed sixth. They were runners-up to Bahrain in the 2006 Middle East Cup and defeated an MCC squad included former England captain Mike Gating by 171 runs in Mumbai. Ducking, gating failed.
They won six of seven English matches in summer 2006, defeated Essex, Glamorgan, and Leicestershire second XIs. Won the ACC Trophy third-place play-off against Nepal. They shared the 2007 ACC Twenty20 Cup with Oman. Jersey won World Cricket League Division Five in 2008 to qualify for the 2011 World Cup. They placed third in the ACC Trophy Elite and won the WCL Division Four event in Tanzania for a second year. Afghanistan qualified for the 2009 World Cup Qualifier by winning Division Three of the World Cricket League in Buenos Aires.
Status of the ODI:
Afghanistan received four years of ODI status after missing the 2011 Cricket World Cup. Afghanistan won the 5th-place playoff by 89 runs over Scotland. Zimbabwe XI played Afghanistan in a four-day Intercontinental Cup match in Mutare. In his first-class debut, Afghan batsman Noor Ali scored hundreds in both innings. They defeated the Netherlands one wicket at the VRA Cricket Ground in August 2009. Afghanistan topped Group A with five wins. Afghanistan defeated Kuwait 8–0 in the semi-finals. UAE lost the final by 84 runs.
The squad defeated Scotland by 7 wickets in the 2010 Intercontinental Cup final in Dubai after winning Ireland, Canada, Scotland, and Kenya. In 2010, they defeated Nepal in the ACC Trophy Elite final in Kuwait and finished third in Division One of the World Cricket League in the Netherlands. They lost the 2010 Asian Games cricket final to Bangladesh. Afghanistan started 2011-13 ICC World Cricket League Championship. 2013 improved Afghanistan. They defeated Scotland in two March T20 Internationals in UAE. They defeated their opponents in two World Cricket League Championship ODIs.
Afghanistan and Scotland tied for third in the 2013 WCL Championship, behind Ireland and the Netherlands for the two automatic World Cup qualifiers. Two convincing spring victories over Scotland heightened optimism. Afghanistan might qualify if they won their remaining four matches against Namibia and Kenya after the Netherlands lost to Ireland in July. Despite the UAE and Netherlands winning their final games, Afghanistan overcame Namibia and Kenya by 8 wickets on 2 October.
Member association:
In 2001, Afghanistan joined the ICC as an associate member. Then, from 2009 to 2015, it was a one-day event. They are currently building up their domestic cricket infrastructure and have signed a two-year deal with the Pakistan board to improve Afghanistan cricket before the 2015 World Cup. In 2012, the Asian Cricket Council put Afghanistan’s name forward to join the ICC as an Associate Member. The request will be looked at the ICC’s annual conference in June. The ICC was giving $700,000 a year to Afghanistan’s organization, but it was suggested that this should go up to $850,000 if Afghanistan became an Associate. More importantly, becoming an Associate would give the passionate cricket players from war-torn Afghanistan more exposure.
The PCB offered technical and professional support, such as game education program, coaching courses, skill and performance analysis, and basic courses for umpires and curators. There were also high-performance camps for new players. The National Cricket Academy (NCA), which was run by the PCB, helped players improve their technical, tactical, mental, and physical skills. It also held lectures on doping, fighting corruption, and different codes of conduct.
Cricket World Cup 2015:
Afghanistan played their first game in the World Cup at the Manuka Oval in Canberra, Australia, against Bangladesh. It was a 50-over game. The score was 105 runs against them.
Australia, India, Sri Lanka, South Africa, New Zealand, and England are all very good at cricket, and so were some of the other teams in the competition. Afghanistan’s qualification for the tournament was a big deal, and the fact that many of the players had learned the game in refugee camps outside of their war-torn country made it even bigger.
Aiming towards test status:
Afghanistan qualified second for the 2012 ICC World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka, joining India and England. Afghan team fielded first against India on 19 September after winning the toss. Afghanistan’s team scored 136 in 19.3 overs and India 159/5 in 20. Afghanistan played England on September 21 after winning the toss. Afghanistan achieved 80 in 17.2 overs after England set 196/5. (20 overs). England and India eliminated Afghanistan in the Super Eights.
Afghanistan defeated Kenya on 3 October 2013 to finish second in the WCL Championship and qualify for the 2015 Cricket World Cup as the 20th team. Afghanistan defeated Kenya again in Sharjah to qualify for the 2015 World Cup. They joined Ireland as the second Associate team in the 2015 World Cup after finishing second in the World Cricket League Championship with nine victories in 14 matches. 2014 New Zealand qualifying tournaments will select the other two berths. Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, and a qualifier comprise World Cup Pool A. Afghanistani team qualified for the 2014 T20 World Cup by defeating Kenya on November 24, 2013. Afghanistan defeated Hong Kong in the 2014 ICC World Twenty20, but Bangladesh and Nepal won the super 10.
Afghanistan defeated Scotland 1–0 in their Cricket World Cup opener on 25 February 2015. India hosted Afghanistan’s 2016 World Twenty20. They missed the International Tournament Semi-Finals. They defeated champions West Indies in their final group match. Zimbabwe lost by 59 runs. Zimbabwe lost to Afghanistan in the Super 10. Afghanistan made its first World Twenty20 second round. In July and August 2016, Lalchand Rajput replaced Inzamam ul Haq as Afghanistan Cricket Team coach. He was picked over Mohammad Yousuf, Herschelle Gibbs, and Corey Collymore. Rajput may sign a two-year contract after touring Europe.
ACB developing plan for ODI performance
In July 2016, ACB developed a plan to make Afghanistan a top-six ODI squad by 2019 and a top-three T20I and ODI team by 2025. ACB gave BCCI annual bilateral matches against India and teams travelling India from the following year. ACB CEO Shafiq Stanikzai said the draught was delivered to BCCI president Anurag Thakur in May and discussed during the ICC Annual Conference in Edinburgh in June 2016. Afghanistan won their first series against top-8 Full member West Indies on July 25, 2016. Zimbabwe started ICC permanent member series. Afghanistan played 5 ODIs and 3 T20Is in the Caribbean mid-June 2017.
Afghanistan announced a full series against Ireland at Greater Noida the same day. In March 2017, Ireland and Afghanistan played five ODIs, three T20Is, and a four-day intercontinental cup. Afghanistan won the T20I series 3-0 and set a record of 11 consecutive wins. The ICC granted Afghanistan and Ireland Test status on June 22, 2017. The ICC confirmed Afghanistan’s first Test against India in late 2018 in December 2017. Afghanistan’s 2019–23 ICC Future Tours Programme has 13 Tests. ACB and BCCI announced June Bengaluru Test in January 2018. Afghanistan lost their debut Test match to hosts India by 262 runs in June 2018.
Current squad:
| Name | Age | Batting style | Bowling style | Region | Franchise | Formats | S/N | Notes |
| Batsmen | ||||||||
| Hashmatullah Shahidi | 28 | Left-handed bat | Right-arm off break | Band-e-Amir | Boost Defenders | Test, ODI, T20I | 50 | Test and ODI Captain |
| Rahmat Shah | 29 | Right-handed bat | Right-arm leg break | Mis Ainak | Pamir Zalmi | Test, ODI | 80 | Test and ODI Vice-captain |
| Ibrahim Zadran | 21 | Right-handed bat | Right-arm medium-fast | Mis Ainak | Kabul Eagles | Test, ODI, T20I | 18 | |
| Najibullah Zadran | 29 | Left-handed bat | Right-arm off break | Boost | Speenghar Tigers | ODI, T20I | 1 | T20I Vice-captain |
| Shahidullah Kamal | 23 | Left-handed bat | Slow left-arm orthodox | Mis Ainak | Kabul Eagles | Test, ODI | ||
| Nasir Jamal | 28 | Right-handed bat | Right-arm leg break | Amo | – | Test | 33 | |
| Abdul Malik | 24 | Right-handed bat | Right-arm off break | Amo | Boost Defenders | Test | ||
| Usman Ghani | 26 | Right-handed bat | Right-arm medium | Speen Ghar | Speenghar Tigers | T20I | 87 | |
| Hazratullah Zazai | 24 | Left-handed bat | Slow left-arm orthodox | Band-e-Amir | Hindukush Stars | T20I | 3 | |
| Riaz Hassan | 20 | Right-handed bat | — | Band-e-Amir | Mis Ainak Knights | ODI | ||
| Darwish Rasooli | 23 | Right-handed bat | Right-arm off break | Boost | Amo Sharks | T20I | ||
All-Rounders | ||||||||
| Mohammad Nabi | 37 | Right-handed bat | Right-arm off break | Amo | Kabul Eagles | ODI, T20I | 7 | T20I Captain |
| Gulbadin Naib | 31 | Right-handed bat | Right-arm fast-medium | Mis Ainak | Mis Ainak Knights | ODI | 14 | |
| Wicket-Keepers | ||||||||
| Afsar Zazai | 29 | Right-handed bat | — | Band-e-Amir | Boost Defenders | Test, T20I | 78 | |
| Rahmanullah Gurbaz | 21 | Right-handed bat | — | Mis Ainak | Kabul Eagles | ODI, T20I | 21 | |
| Munir Ahmad | 26 | Right-handed bat | — | Boost | Boost Defenders | Test | ||
| Ikram Alikhil | 22 | Left-handed bat | — | Speen Ghar | Band-e-Amir Dragons | ODI | 46 | |
| Spin Bowlers | ||||||||
| Rashid Khan | 24 | Right-handed bat | Right-arm leg break | Speen Ghar | Band-e-Amir Dragons | Test, ODI, T20I | 19 | |
| Amir Hamza | 31 | Right-handed bat | Slow left-arm orthodox | Band-e-Amir | Mis Ainak Knights | Test | 4 | |
| Mujeeb Ur Rahman | 21 | Right-handed bat | Right-arm off break | Speen Ghar | Hindukush Stars | ODI, T20 | 88 | |
| Sharafuddin Ashraf | 27 | Right-handed bat | Slow left-arm orthodox | Amo | Speenghar Tigers | T20I | 17 | |
| Noor Ahmad | 17 | Left-handed bat | Slow left-arm unorthodox | Mis Ainak | Band-e-Amir Dragons | T20I | 75 | |
| Zia-ur-Rehman | 24 | Right-handed bat | Slow left-arm orthodox | Mis Ainak | Boost Defenders | Test, ODI | ||
| Pace Bowlers | ||||||||
| Yamin Ahmadzai | 30 | Right-handed bat | Right-arm medium-fast | Boost | Speenghar Tigers | Test, ODI | 99 | |
| Fazalhaq Farooqi | 22 | Right-handed bat | Left-arm fast-medium | Kabul | Boost Defenders | Test, ODI, T20I | 5 | |
| Azmatullah Omarzai | 22 | Right-handed bat | Right-arm medium-fast | Amo | Kabul Eagles | ODI, T20I | 15 | |
| Naveen-ul-Haq | 23 | Right-handed bat | Right-arm medium-fast | Band-e-Amir | Kabul Eagles | T20I | 78 | |
| Fareed Ahmad | 28 | Left-handed bat | Left-arm fast-medium | Speen Ghar | Speenghar Tigers | ODI, T20I | 56 | |
| Karim Janat | 24 | Right-handed bat | Right-arm medium | Band-e-Amir | Band-e-Amir Dragons | T20I | 11 | |
| Wafadar Momand | 22 | Right-handed bat | Right-arm medium-fast | Amo | Amo Sharks | Test | 99 | |
| Mohammad Saleem | 20 | Right-handed bat | Right-arm fast | Amo | Boost Defenders | Test |
Records:
Afghanistan match recap international
| Playing record | ||||||
| Format | M | W | L | T | D/NR | Inaugural match |
| Tests | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 14 June 2018 |
| One-Day Internationals | 141 | 70 | 66 | 1 | 4 | 19 April 2009 |
| Twenty20 Internationals | 107 | 68 | 38 | 1 | 0 | 1 February 2010 |
Test matches:
On June 14, 2018, in Bengaluru, India, Afghanistan played its first-ever test match against India.
- The highest score was 545/4 vs. On March 11, 2021, Zimbabwe will play at Sheikh Zayed Stadium.
- The lowest score was 103 vs. India, 14 June 2018 at Bangalore.
Afghanistan has the most Test runs
| Player | Runs | Average | Career span |
| Asghar Afghan | 440 | 44.00 | 2018–2021 |
| Rahmat Shah | 385 | 32.08 | 2018–2021 |
| Ibrahim Zadran | 356 | 44.50 | 2019–2021 |
| Hashmatullah Shahidi | 349 | 58.16 | 2018–2021 |
| Afsar Zazai | 172 | 24.57 | 2018–2021 |
Most Test wickets for Afghanistan:
| Player | Wickets | Average | Career span |
| Rashid Khan | 34 | 22.35 | 2018–2021 |
| Amir Hamza | 16 | 21.37 | 2019–2021 |
| Yamin Ahmadzai | 11 | 24.00 | 2018–2021 |
| Mohammad Nabi | 8 | 31.75 | 2018–2019 |
| Zahir Khan | 7 | 34.13 | 2018–2021 |
Highest Test scores for Afghanistan:
| Player | Runs | Opposition | Venue | Year |
| Hashmatullah Shahidi | 200* | Zimbabwe | Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi | 2021 |
| Asghar Afghan | 164 | Zimbabwe | Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi | 2021 |
| Rahmat Shah | 102 | Bangladesh | Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, Chittagong | 2019 |
| Rahmat Shah | 98 | Ireland | Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Dehradun | 2019 |
| Asghar Afghan | 92 | Bangladesh | Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, Chittagong | 2019 |
| Ibrahim Zadran | 87 | Bangladesh | Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, Chittagong | 2019 |
| Rahmat Shah | 76 | Ireland | Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Dehradun | 2019 |
| Ibrahim Zadran | 76 | Zimbabwe | Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi | 2021 |
| Ibrahim Zadran | 72 | Zimbabwe | Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi | 2021 |
| Asghar Afghan | 67 | Ireland | Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Dehradun | 2019 |
One-Day Internationals:
Most runs scored by a team: 338 against Ireland on March 17, 2017 in Greater Noida.
The lowest score for a team was 58 against Zimbabwe on January 2, 2016 at Sharjah.
Most of Afghanistan’s runs in ODIs:
| Player | Runs | Average | Career span |
| Rahmat Shah | 3,083 | 38.06 | 2013–2022 |
| Mohammad Nabi | 2,968 | 27.48 | 2009–2022 |
| Mohammad Shahzad | 2,727 | 33.66 | 2009–2019 |
| Asghar Afghan | 2,424 | 24.73 | 2009–2021 |
| Najibullah Zadran | 1,974 | 31.33 | 2012–2022 |
Most ODI wickets for Afghanistan:
| Player | Wickets | Average | Career span |
| Rashid Khan | 163 | 18.55 | 2015–2022 |
| Mohammad Nabi | 144 | 32.13 | 2009–2022 |
| Dawlat Zadran | 115 | 29.76 | 2011–2019 |
| Mujeeb Ur Rahman | 79 | 24.75 | 2017–2022 |
| Gulbadin Naib | 64 | 35.60 | 2011–2022 |
Highest ODI scores for Afghanistan:
| Player | Runs | Opposition | Venue | Year |
| Ibrahim Zadran | 162 | Sri Lanka | Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Pallekele | 2022 |
| Mohammad Shahzad | 131* | Zimbabwe | Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah | 2015 |
| Nawroz Mangal | 129 | United Arab Emirates | ICC Academy Ground, Dubai | 2014 |
| Rahmanullah Gurbaz | 127 | Ireland | Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi | 2021 |
| Mohammad Shahzad | 124 | India | Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai | 2018 |
| Ibrahim Zadran | 121* | Zimbabwe | Harare Sports Club, Harare | 2022 |
| Usman Ghani | 118 | Zimbabwe | Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo | 2014 |
| Mohammad Shahzad | 118 | Canada | Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah | 2010 |
| Mohammad Nabi | 116 | Zimbabwe | Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo | 2015 |
| Karim Sadiq | 114* | Scotland | Cambusdoon New Ground, Ayr | 2010 |
| Noor Ali Zadran | 114 | Canada | Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah | 2010 |
| Rahmat Shah | 114 | Zimbabwe | Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah | 2018 |
Twenty20 Internationals:
The men’s T20Is record is 12 straight wins (5 February 2018 – 15 September 2019).
- Most runs scored by a team: 278/3 against Ireland on February 23, 2019, at Dehradun.
- Bangladesh on March 16, 2014, at Dhaka, had the lowest score of 72.
- Hazratullah Zazai beat Ireland with a score of 162* on February 23, 2019, at Dehradun.
- Rashid Khan’s 5/3 against Ireland on March 10, 2017 at Greater Noida was the best bowling performance by a single bowler.
Most T20I runs for Afghanistan:
| Player | Runs | Average | Career span |
| Mohammad Shahzad | 2,015 | 30.07 | 2010–2021 |
| Mohammad Nabi | 1,686 | 21.07 | 2010–2022 |
| Najibullah Zadran | 1,590 | 31.17 | 2012–2022 |
| Asghar Afghan | 1,382 | 21.93 | 2010–2021 |
| Samiullah Shenwari | 1,013 | 22.02 | 2010–2020 |
Most T20I wickets for Afghanistan:
| Player | Wickets | Average | Career span |
| Rashid Khan | 120 | 14.21 | 2015–2022 |
| Mohammad Nabi | 84 | 28.27 | 2010–2022 |
| Mujeeb Ur Rahman | 49 | 17.02 | 2018–2022 |
| Dawlat Zadran | 40 | 24.50 | 2012–2017 |
| Shapoor Zadran | 37 | 24.51 | 2010–2020 |
T20I record vs other countries:
| Opponent | Matches | Won | Lost | Tied | No Result | % Won | First | Last | |
| Full Members | |||||||||
| Australia | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 2022 | 2022 | |
| Bangladesh | 9 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 66.66 | 2014 | 2022 | |
| England | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 2012 | 2022 | |
| India | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 2010 | 2022 | |
| Ireland | 23 | 16 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 71.73 | 2010 | 2022 | |
| New Zealand | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 2021 | 2021 | |
| Pakistan | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 2013 | 2022 | |
| South Africa | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 2010 | 2016 | |
| Sri Lanka | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 25.00 | 2016 | 2022 | |
| West Indies | 7 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 42.85 | 2016 | 2019 | |
| Zimbabwe | 15 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 93.33 | 2015 | 2022 | |
| Associate Members | |||||||||
| Canada | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100 | 2010 | 2012 | |
| Bermuda | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 60.00 | 2014 | 2016 | |
| Kenya | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 66.66 | 2013 | 2013 | |
| Namibia | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100 | 2021 | 2021 | |
| Nepal | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 2014 | 2014 | |
| Netherlands | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 50.00 | 2010 | 2015 | |
| Oman | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100 | 2016 | 2022 | |
| Papua New Guinea | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100 | 2015 | 2015 | |
| Scotland | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100 | 2010 | 2021 | |
| United Arab Emirates | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 83.33 | 2015 | 2017 | |
| Total | 107 | 68 | 38 | 1 | 0 | 64.01 | 2010 | 2022 |