Rahmat Shah Zurmatai is an Afghan cricketer who plays for the Afghanistan national cricket team. He is a right-handed batsman and an occasional leg break bowler. He made his international debut in an ODI against Scotland 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 scored Afghanistan's first century in Test cricket.
The Afghanistan national cricket team toured Zimbabwe from 13 July to 5 August 2014, playing four ODIs and two first-class matches against the Zimbabwean team. The tour was originally scheduled for January 2014 but it was postponed until later in the year due to player strikes in Zimbabwe. The four-match series was drawn 2-2.
Hashmatullah Shahidi is an Afghan cricketer and currently the captain of Afghanistan national cricket team in One Day International (ODI) and Test cricket. He made his ODI debut for Afghanistan against Kenya in October 2013. Shahidi was one of the eleven cricketers to play in Afghanistan's first ever Test match, against India, in June 2018. He became the first Afghan player to score a test double hundred when he scored 200 not out against Zimbabwe on 11 March 2021.
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.
The Afghan cricket team toured Zimbabwe between 8 and 29 October 2015. The tour consisted of five One Day International (ODI) matches, two Twenty20 Internationals (T20I) and two tour matches. This was the first time for Afghanistan to play a five-match bilateral ODI series.
The Afghanistan cricket team toured the United Arab Emirates to play Zimbabwe from 25 December 2015 to 10 January 2016. The tour consisted of five One Day Internationals (ODIs) and two Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) matches. All the matches took place at the Sharjah Cricket Association Stadium.
The Afghan cricket team toured Zimbabwe between January and February 2017. The tour consisted of five One Day International (ODI) matches. Ahead of the ODI series, the Afghanistan A cricket team played five "unofficial" List A ODI matches against the Zimbabwe A cricket team. Afghanistan won the List A series 4–1 and the ODI series 3–2.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz is an Afghan cricketer. He made his international debut for Afghanistan in September 2019. His parents hail from the Gurbaz tribe of Afghanistan. In January 2021, he became the first batsman for Afghanistan to score a century on debut in a One Day International (ODI), against Ireland.
The Zimbabwe cricket team toured the United Arab Emirates to play the Afghanistan cricket team in February 2018 to play two Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) and five One Day International (ODI) matches. Initial reports suggested that it would include Afghanistan's first Test match since being awarded Test status by the International Cricket Council in June 2017, but instead the tour consisted of just limited overs matches. An official from Zimbabwe Cricket said that both sides were still in talks to play a Test match, but that would be at some point after the 2018 Cricket World Cup Qualifier.
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 the 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. For India, it was their biggest win by an innings in Tests, and they became the first Asian team to win a Test match inside two days.
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 featuring Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Zimbabwe with all the matches played as Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is).
The Afghanistan cricket team toured Zimbabwe in June 2022 to play three One Day International (ODI) matches and three Twenty20 International (T20I) matches. The ODI series formed part of the inaugural 2020–2023 ICC Cricket World Cup Super League. In April 2022, Zimbabwe Cricket confirmed the fixtures for the tour. The following month, the tour itinerary was changed slightly, bringing the matches forward by one week and reducing the number of T20Is from five to three.
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.
The Afghanistan cricket team toured Bangladesh in February and March 2022 to play three One Day International (ODI) and two Twenty20 International (T20I) matches. The ODI series formed part of the inaugural 2020–2023 ICC Cricket World Cup Super League. On 1 February 2022, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) confirmed the schedule for the tour. The ODI matches took place in Chittagong, with the T20I matches played in Dhaka.
The Netherlands cricket team toured Qatar in January 2022 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 three matches were played at the West End Park International Cricket Stadium in Doha. Hashmatullah Shahidi was named Afghanistan's ODI captain, replacing Asghar Afghan.
The Afghanistan cricket team toured Bangladesh in June and July 2023 to play one Test, three One Day International (ODI) and two Twenty20 International (T20I) matches. The International Cricket Council (ICC) confirmed this FTP tour in their press release.
The Ireland cricket team toured the United Arab Emirates in February and March 2024 to play one Test match, three One Day International (ODI) matches and three Twenty20 International (T20I) matches against Afghanistan. The Test was played in Abu Dhabi, and the ODIs and T20Is were played in Sharjah. The T20I series formed part of both teams' preparation for the 2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup tournament. The venue for the Test was shifted from the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium to the Tolerance Oval, just a week before the match.
The Bangladesh cricket team toured the United Arab Emirates in November 2024 to play three One Day International (ODI) matches against Afghanistan cricket team. In September 2024, Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) confirmed the fixtures for the tour. The series formed part of both teams' preparations for the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy which is set to take place in February 2025.
