The Most Famous

CRICKETERS from Afghanistan

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This page contains a list of the greatest Afghan Cricketers. The pantheon dataset contains 136 Cricketers, 2 of which were born in Afghanistan. This makes Afghanistan the birth place of the 9th most number of Cricketers behind Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh.

Top 5

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Afghan Cricketers of all time. This list of famous Afghan Cricketers is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography's online popularity.

Photo of Rashid Khan

1. Rashid Khan (b. 1998)

With an HPI of 41.28, Rashid Khan is the most famous Afghan Cricketer.  His biography has been translated into 19 different languages on wikipedia.

Rashid Khan Arman (Pashto: راشد خان ارمان; born 20 September 1998) is an Afghan international cricketer and captain of the Afghanistan national team in the T20I format. In franchise leagues, he plays for Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League (IPL), Adelaide Strikers in Australia's Big Bash League (BBL), Lahore Qalandars in the Pakistan Super League (PSL), Band-e-Amir Dragons in Afghanistan's Shpageeza Cricket League and MI New York in Major League Cricket (MLC). He bowls right-arm leg spin and is an aggressive right-handed batsman. He was one of the eleven cricketers to play in Afghanistan's first Test match, against India, in June 2018. He returned the most expensive bowling figures by a debutant in a nation's maiden Test match. In September 2019, he led the team in the one-off Test against Bangladesh, and at the age of 20 years and 350 days, became the youngest cricketer to captain a Test match side. In June 2017, he took the best bowling figures for an associate nation in a One Day International (ODI) match. In February 2018, he became the youngest player to top the ICC Player Rankings for bowlers in ODIs. Later the same month, he also topped the ICC Player Rankings for bowlers in T20Is. In September 2018, he became the number one player in the ICC's all-rounder rankings, following his performance at the 2018 Asia Cup. In March 2018, during the 2018 Cricket World Cup Qualifier, he captained Afghanistan for the first time in an ODI match. At the age of 19 years and 165 days, he became the youngest player to captain an international side. In the final of the Cricket World Cup Qualifier, against the West Indies, Khan became the fastest and youngest bowler to take 100 wickets in ODIs when he dismissed Shai Hope. He took 44 matches to take his 100th dismissal, breaking the previous record of 52 matches, set by Mitchell Starc of Australia. In June 2018, he became the fastest bowler, in terms of time, to take 50 wickets in T20Is. He reached the milestone in two years and 220 days, in the first T20I against Bangladesh. In October 2021, he also became the fastest bowler, in terms of matches, to take 100 wickets in T20I cricket, in his 53rd match. In April 2019, the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) named Khan as the team's new T20I captain, replacing Asghar Afghan. Khan was also appointed as the vice-captain of the ODI squad. In June 2019, during the 2019 Cricket World Cup, Khan played in his 100th international cricket match for Afghanistan. Following the World Cup, Khan was appointed as captain of the Afghanistan cricket team across all formats. However, in December 2019, the ACB reappointed Asghar Afghan as the captain of the Afghanistan cricket team across all formats. In 2017 Rashid Khan won Associate Cricketer of the Year award and also in December 2020, Rashid Khan was named the ICC Men's T20I Cricketer of the Decade.

Photo of Mohammad Nabi

2. Mohammad Nabi (b. 1985)

With an HPI of 31.81, Mohammad Nabi is the 2nd most famous Afghan Cricketer.  His biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Mohammad Nabi Eisakhil (Pashto: محمد نبي عیسی خېل; born 1 January 1985) is an Afghan cricketer and former captain of the Afghanistan national cricket team. Nabi is an attacking batting 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 was also part of Afghanistan's first T20I team which played against Ireland on 1 February 2010 and became the fifth cap of Afghanistan national team in Twenty20 Internationals. Nabi was also part of Afghanistan's first T20 World Cup team which played the 2010 ICC World Twenty20. He captained the side during their 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. As of June 2024, Nabi holds a unique record of having been an integral part of Afghanistan side in defeating 45 different nations in across all international cricket. In September 2019, Nabi retired from Test cricket with the stated aim to prolong his limited overs cricket career. In August 2020, Nabi was inducted as a member of the Afghanistan Cricket Board.

Photo of Mohammad Shahzad

3. Mohammad Shahzad (b. 1988)

With an HPI of 25.03, Mohammad Shahzad is the 3rd most famous Afghan Cricketer.  His biography has been translated into 14 different languages.

Mohammad Shahzad Mohammadi (Pashto: محمد شهزاد محمدي; born 10 January 1988) is an Afghan cricketer who has represented his country in all three international formats. He is a right-handed opening batsman and a wicketkeeper. He made his international debut for Afghanistan in August 2009 against the Netherlands. Shahzad was one of the eleven cricketers to play in Afghanistan's first Test match, against India, in June 2018. Shahzad also has a rare record - scoring an ODI hundred in the lowest team score - by reaching an ODI century at a point when Afghanistan's score (against India in the Asia Cup 2018) was just 131, thus equalling Pakistan's Shahid Afridi's previous record.

Photo of Gulbadin Naib

4. Gulbadin Naib (b. 1991)

With an HPI of 24.71, Gulbadin Naib is the 4th most famous Afghan Cricketer.  His biography has been translated into 14 different languages.

Gulbadin Naib (born 4 June 1991) is an Afghan cricketer. An all-rounder, Naib bats right-handed and bowls right-arm fast-medium. In April 2019, the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) named Naib 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. Naib led Afghanistan to the silver medal in the 2022 Asian Games.

Photo of Hamid Hassan

5. Hamid Hassan (b. 1987)

With an HPI of 23.97, Hamid Hassan is the 5th most famous Afghan Cricketer.  His biography has been translated into 14 different languages.

Hamid Hassan (Pashto: حميد حسن; born 1 June 1987) is a former Afghan cricketer. He is a right-arm fast bowler and a right-handed batsman who mainly plays as a bowler. He made his international debut in April 2009.

People

Pantheon has 5 people classified as Afghan cricketers born between 1985 and 1998. Of these 5, 5 (100.00%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Afghan cricketers include Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi, and Mohammad Shahzad. As of April 2024, 3 new Afghan cricketers have been added to Pantheon including Mohammad Shahzad, Gulbadin Naib, and Hamid Hassan.

Living Afghan Cricketers

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Newly Added Afghan Cricketers (2025)

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