Mohammad Nabi Eisakhil is an Afghan cricketer who is the current captain of the T20 international team. Nabi is an all-rounder, playing as a right-handed batsman and off break bowler. He played a major role in Afghanistan's rise to the top level of international cricket, playing in both their first One Day International in April 2009 and their first Test match in June 2018. He captained the side during their first appearances in the 2014 Asia Cup and the 2015 Cricket World Cup. Nabi has also played in numerous Twenty20 franchise tournaments and was the first player from Afghanistan to be selected in the Indian Premier League player auction.
Mohammad Asghar Afghan, and also known as Asghar Salamkhail, is a former Afghan cricketer and former captain of the Afghanistan national cricket team. Asghar is a right-handed batsman and a medium-fast bowler. In May 2018, he was named as the captain of Afghanistan, for their inaugural Test match, played against India. He made his Test debut for Afghanistan, against India, on 14 June 2018. On 2 August 2018, he changed his last name from Stanikzai to Afghan.
Gulbadin Naib is an Afghan cricketer. Naib is a right-handed batsman who bowls right-arm fast-medium. In April 2019, the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) named Naib as the team's new One Day International (ODI) captain ahead of the 2019 Cricket World Cup, replacing Asghar Afghan. However, following the Cricket World Cup, where Afghanistan lost all of their matches, Rashid Khan was named as the new captain of the Afghanistan cricket team across all three formats.
Rahmat Shah Zurmatai is an Afghan cricketer who plays for the Afghanistan national cricket team. He is a right-handed batsman who is an occasional leg break bowler. He made his international debut for Afghanistan in March 2013. He was one of the eleven cricketers to play in Afghanistan's first ever Test match, against India, in June 2018. In September 2019, in the one-off Test between Afghanistan and Bangladesh, Rahmat became the first batsman for Afghanistan to score a century in Test cricket.
Afsar Khan Zazai is an Afghan cricketer. Afsar is a right-handed wicket-keeper batsman who is known for his batting skills. He was one of the eleven cricketers to play in Afghanistan's first ever Test match, against India, in June 2018. He is the first Test cap for Afghanistan.
Cricket is the national sport of Afghanistan. Beginning in the mid 1800s, Cricket has been widely popular in Afghanistan, though progress on the international level was slow. In 1995, The Afghanistan Cricket Board was founded. Afghanistan became an affiliate member of ICC in 2001, after forming a national team. From 2008 to 2013, Afghanistan went from Division Five of the World Cricket League to a Full Associate Member. Afghanistan debuted in the 2015 Cricket World Cup. Afghanistan qualified for finals in ICC World Cup Qualifier 2018 and defeated West Indies in finals. 2019 World Cup was 2nd World Cup which Afghanistan qualified. They qualified under the captaincy Asgar Afghan.
Rashid Khan Arman is an Afghan cricketer and a former captain of the national team. In franchise leagues, he plays for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League (IPL), Adelaide Strikers in Australia's Big Bash League (BBL), Lahore Qalandars in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) and the Band-e-Amir Dragons in Afghanistan. He bowls right-arm leg spin and bats right-handed.
Sylhet SunRiser is a professional cricket franchise team based in Sylhet, Bangladesh. The team competes in the Bangladesh Premier League. The franchise made their debut at the 2012 Bangladesh Premier League.
The Ireland cricket team toured India during March 2017 to play five One Day Internationals (ODIs), three Twenty20 International (T20Is) and an ICC Intercontinental Cup match against Afghanistan. All the matches were played at the Greater Noida Sports Complex Ground, Greater Noida. Afghanistan won the T20I series 3–0 and the ODI series 3–2. Afghanistan also won the ICC Intercontinental Cup match, by an innings and 172 runs.
Mujeeb Ur Rahman Zadran is an Afghan cricketer, who plays for the Afghanistan national cricket team. He was the first man to play international cricket who was born in the 21st century. Two months after his international debut, at the age of 16 years and 325 days, he became the youngest player to take a five-wicket haul in a One Day International match. He was one of the eleven cricketers to play in Afghanistan's first ever Test match, against India, in June 2018. It was also his first-class cricket debut. His uncle, Noor Ali Zadran, is also an Afghan international cricketer.
Qais Ahmad is an Afghan cricketer. He made his Test match debut for the Afghanistan cricket team in September 2019.
The Afghanistan cricket team toured India in June 2018 to play a one-off Test match against the India cricket team. It was Afghanistan's first Test since they were awarded Test status by the International Cricket Council (ICC) in June 2017. India won the match in two days by an innings and 262 runs. Afghanistan were dismissed twice in the same day, only the fourth time this has happened in Tests. It was India's biggest win by an innings in Tests, and they became the first Asian team to win a Test match inside two days.
The 2019 Cricket World Cup group stage was played in a round-robin league format, with all 10 teams playing each other once in a single group, resulting in a total of 45 matches being played. The top four teams from the group progressed to the knockout stage. A similar format was previously used in the 1992 Cricket World Cup.
The Bangladesh cricket team toured India to play three Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) against the Afghanistan cricket team in Dehradun.
The Ireland cricket team toured India in February and March 2019 to play three Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is), five One Day Internationals (ODIs) and a Test match against the Afghanistan cricket team. It was Ireland's first Test played overseas and the first Test match between the two sides. All of the fixtures took place at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Dehradun. The ODI fixtures were part of Afghanistan's preparation for the 2019 Cricket World Cup. In January 2019, the fixtures were brought forward by two days, to avoid clashing with the Indian Premier League.
The 2019–20 Bangladesh Tri-Nation Series was a cricket tournament that took place in September 2019. It was a tri-nation series between Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Zimbabwe with all the matches played as Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is).
The Afghanistan cricket team played the West Indies cricket team in India in November and December 2019 to play one Test, three One Day Internationals (ODIs) and three Twenty20 International (T20I) matches. It was the first Test match that Afghanistan played against the West Indies. The two teams had played each other ten times before, with the majority of matches in the Caribbean, with this being Afghanistan's fourth Test match. All the matches were played at the Ekana International Cricket Stadium in Lucknow.
The Bangladesh cricket team toured Pakistan in January and February 2020 to play one Test match and three Twenty20 International (T20I) matches against the Pakistan cricket team. The Test series formed part of the inaugural 2019–2021 ICC World Test Championship.
The Ireland cricket team toured the United Arab Emirates in January 2021 to play three One Day International (ODI) matches against Afghanistan. The ODI series formed part of the inaugural 2020–2023 ICC Cricket World Cup Super League. All of the matches were played at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi.
The Zimbabwe cricket team toured the United Arab Emirates in March 2021 to play two Test and three Twenty20 International (T20I) matches against Afghanistan. It was the first time the two teams had played a Test match against each other. Ahmed Shah Pakteen was named as the on-field umpire for both Tests, becoming the first Afghan umpire to officiate in Test cricket.
