Rahmat Shah announced as Afghanistan's new Test and ODI captain after Hashmatullah Shahidi's resignation

Rahmat Shah has been promoted to the captain's role in Afghanistan's Test and ODI setup, replacing Hashmatullah Shahidi. The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) made this announcement on Wednesday, July 22, less than 24 hours after Shahidi resigned from the role.

Shahidi had been named captain of the Afghanistan national team on May 31, 2021, and began his tenure with a series victory over the Netherlands in January 2022. During his successful tenure as captain, Afghanistan registered quite a few memorable victories and milestones while making prominent improvement in the international rankings.

Under his leadership, the Blue Tigers won 27 out of 55 ODIs. He also guided the team to four memorable victories at the ODI World Cup in 2023, where Afghanistan defeated England, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and the Netherlands, resulting in the Asian side finishing sixth in the tournament.

During this phase, Rahmat Shah served as Shahidi's deputy in Tests and ODIs. The top-order batter has played 128 ODI and 12 Tests for Afghanistan and scored more than 5,000 international runs.

"With extensive experience in international cricket, leadership, and the team’s overall structure, Rahmat Shah is well positioned to take on this important responsibility. The ACB is confident that his experience, leadership, and understanding of the team will help Afghanistan achieve further significant success," the board wrote in a statement, expressing their confidence in the 33-year-old.

Rahmanullah Gurbaz, the aggressive wicketkeeper-batter, has all the ingredients to be Afghanistan's all-format captain in the future. For now, the board has named him as Afghanistan's vice-captain in Tests and ODIs.

The 24-year-old has played three Tests, 55 ODIs, and 87 T20Is so far. His ODI record in quite impressive, as he has scored 2036 runs at an average of 37.70 and a strike rate of 90.29.

Afghan refugee women get 2030 qualification pathway

The upcoming series against Ireland will be the first assignment for Shah and Gurbaz in their new roles. Afghanistan will travel to Ireland to play five ODIs next month, starting on August 5.