In four and a half years as Afghanistan’s ODI captain, Shahidi took charge for 55 matches, won 27 of them, and dragged a team with modest resources into a World Cup, an Asia Cup and a Champions Trophy. He resigned on July 22, ending a reign built on four historic wins at the 2023 World Cup, a maiden century against India last month, and a batting average of 33.79 that held up even under leadership pressure. Rahmat Shah now takes over, with Rahmanullah Gurbaz as his deputy.
Hashmatullah Shahidi Afghanistan ODI Captaincy Legacy
Shahidi’s tenure ran from January 2022 to June 2026, and the raw record reads better than most people probably realise: 55 matches, 27 wins, 28 losses, a win rate just shy of 50 percent. As a batter under the extra weight of captaincy, he still managed an average of 33.79 and a strike rate of 70.77, numbers that held steady across some of Afghanistan’s biggest fixtures.
He led the side to bilateral series wins over Bangladesh three times, Zimbabwe twice, and South Africa and Ireland once each, a spread that shows this wasn’t a team that only beat weaker opposition at home. That range mattered, since a captain’s record gets judged on whether wins came against sides that counted, and his did, home and away.
The Numbers Behind Four Years in Charge
| Tenure | Matches | Wins | Win Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 2022 to June 2026 | 55 | 27 | 49.09% |
Three ICC events sit inside that stretch, the 2023 Asia Cup, the 2023 World Cup, and the 2025 Champions Trophy, and Afghanistan reached all three as a side genuinely competing rather than making up the numbers. That consistency across formats and continents, not any single result, is what selectors pointed to when discussing his legacy after the resignation. Few captains inherit Afghanistan’s resources and still make three global tournaments feel routine rather than exceptional.
Four Wins That Defined the 2023 World Cup
The 2023 World Cup produced the signature results of Shahidi’s captaincy. Afghanistan beat England by 69 runs in Delhi, their first win over England in any format. Nine days later in Chennai, they chased down 283 against Pakistan with eight wickets in hand, their first ODI win over Pakistan in eight attempts and the highest successful chase in the team’s ODI history at the time.
A week after that came a seven-wicket win over Sri Lanka in Pune, Shahidi finishing unbeaten on 58, and days later a seven-wicket win over the Netherlands in Lucknow, Shahidi again finishing not out, this time on 56. Afghanistan finished sixth, missing the semi-finals, but that finish secured their spot at the 2025 Champions Trophy, where they beat England again before an unplayed Australia fixture ended their run. Four wins in five weeks against three top-eight sides and a co-host is the kind of run that gets a captain remembered long after the tournament ends, even without a semi-final to show for it.
A Farewell Century Before Stepping Down
Shahidi’s last act as captain came in Chennai on June 20, a 102 off 131 balls against India that made him the first Afghan captain to score an ODI century against them in any format. It took him 94 innings to reach that milestone, the slowest of any Afghan batter to a maiden ODI hundred, and a stand of 105 with Azmatullah Omarzai steadied an innings that still ended in a nine-wicket defeat as India completed a 3-0 sweep.
He spoke afterward about the relief of finally reaching three figures after so long waiting, admitting the Chennai heat had left him cramping by the end, but insisting he still felt good enough to keep chasing more of these innings for his country.
Two days later he stepped down, announcing it himself on social media as a personal decision made with full respect for the role, thanking his teammates and coaching staff without offering a specific reason for the timing. Rahmat Shah was named his successor with Gurbaz as deputy, and Shahidi said he intended to keep playing under the new leadership. Afghanistan’s next assignment is a five-match ODI series in Ireland this August, the first series under a new leader since Hashmatullah Shahidi’s Afghanistan ODI captaincy legacy began back in 2022.