Hashmatullah Shahidi has resigned as Afghanistan's ODI and Test captain with immediate effect. Shahidi led Afghanistan in 55 ODIs from January 2022 till the end of their previous assignment, against India in India, in June 2026. The Afghanistan Cricket Board announced Rahmat Shah as the new ODI and Test captain with Rahmanullah Gurbaz his deputy.
Shahidi's captaincy stint included leading Afghanistan at one Asia Cup and ODI World Cup each, both in 2023, and the Champions Trophy in 2025. Under his captaincy, Afghanistan won 27 matches, including wins against England, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Netherlands at the 2023 World Cup, where Afghanistan nearly made it to the semi-final.
They finished on sixth place, which secured them a place in the 2025 Champions Trophy in Dubai. They beat England there again but could not qualify for the semi-finals after their game against Australia was washed out.
Afghanistan also beat Bangladesh (three times), Zimbabwe (twice), and South Africa and Ireland (once each) in bilateral series under Shahidi's captaincy.
Rahmat, 33, has played 12 Tests and 128 ODIs since making his debut in 2018. He is Afghanistan's leading run-getter in ODIs with 4121 at an average of 35.22. He has earned the praise of coaches for being a technically correct batter and soaking up pressure in the middle. Rahmat was Afghanistan's vice-captain in Tests and ODIs since 2021 and this leadership mantle is the next step up for him. Both Rahmat and Gurbaz, 24, are yet to captain Afghanistan in international cricket.
Shahidi's batting numbers as captain weren't too different to what they were when he wasn't leading Afghanistan. When not playing as captain, he averaged 32.97 and had a strike rate of 64.39, numbers which only slightly improved to 33.79 and 70.77, respectively, while being captain. His only ODI century in 96 games came in Afghanistan's previous ODI, against India in Chennai, when he scored 102 off 131 balls.
This captaincy switch completes Afghanistan's leadership transition across formats since new head coach Richard Pybus came in after the T20 World Cup earlier this year. Ibrahim Zadran had replaced Rashid Khan as the T20I captain in March.
Afghanistan are next in action in August, when they tour Ireland for five ODIs.
July 22, 11:25am GMT - The story was updated with details about Rahmat's appointment as captain and Gurbaz's elevation to vice-captaincy.