Top-order batter Nangarhar Cosmic
Rahmat Shah captains Nangarhar Cosmic in APL T20 2026 and Afghanistan in Tests and ODIs.
234
Highest Test score, v Zimbabwe 2024
143*
Highest ODI score, v Ireland 2026
1,043
Test runs at 45.34
4,300
ODI runs at 35.83
Last updated 5 November 2026, 16:20 GST
Rahmat Shah was named in Nangarhar Leopards' squad for the first APL in September 2018, and he played all eight league matches: 87 runs and 6 wickets, with his best day coming against Kabul Zwanan on 12 October 2018, when 8 off 6 and 3 for 25 made him Player of the Match in a 15-run win. He was on the bench for the semi-final against Balkh Legends on 19 October 2018, when Nangarhar were bowled out for 64 and lost by 171 runs. The league folded after that one season, and it would be eight years before he played in it again.
He returns in 2026 as a captain, but not the one first announced. At the leaders' draft on 25 October 2026, Rahmanullah Gurbaz was named Nangarhar captain and Rahmat Shah was named Paktia captain. On 3 November, just before the players' draft, the two captains were swapped: Rahmat Shah now leads Nangarhar Cosmic, with Toby Radford as head coach and Mark Boucher as mentor, and Gurbaz leads Team Paktia. The ACB described the change as a decision of the APL Technical Committee reached by mutual agreement between franchise owners and captains, and the reasons were not publicly disclosed. The season starts on 27 December 2026.
His 2018 figures come from the eight verified league scorecards. He played all eight league matches for Nangarhar Leopards and was on the bench for the semi-final against Balkh Legends on 19 October 2018, so there is no ninth appearance. The averages, strike rate and economy below are computed from those scorecard figures.
| Season | Matches | Innings | Runs | Highest | Average | Strike rate | 50s / 100s | 4s | 6s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 8 | 7 | 87 | 32 | 12.43 | 87.88 | 0 / 0 | 7 | 1 |
| 2026 | Season not started | ||||||||
| Season | Matches | Overs | Wickets | Best figures | Average | Economy | Strike rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 8 | 15.4 | 6 | 3/25 | 21.17 | 8.11 | 15.67 |
| 2026 | Season not started | ||||||
What could not be verified: his exact 2023 World Cup and 2025 Champions Trophy figures, the date and opponent of his ODI best bowling of 5 for 32, and any IPL or overseas franchise T20 stint — none was found, so none is claimed. Those are marked To be confirmed rather than estimated.
| Year | Team | Matches | Runs / Wickets | Team finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Nangarhar Leopards | 8 | 87 runs / 6 wickets | Semi-finals |
| 2026 | Nangarhar Cosmic | Season not started | Season not started | To be confirmed |
8 off 6 and 3 for 25 in four overs, plus the catch of Hazratullah Zazai for 40, as Nangarhar defended 182 and won by 15 runs.
Why it mattered: his best APL bowling, three wickets including Luke Ronchi (50), Colin Ingram and Rashid Khan, and Nangarhar's second win after three straight defeats. He was Player of the Match.
234 in the first Test at Bulawayo, his maiden Test double century.
Why it mattered: the highest Test score by an Afghan batter at that point, later passed by Hashmatullah Shahidi's 246 in the same match.
102 in the one-off Test at Chattogram, in only Afghanistan's third Test.
Why it mattered: the first hundred by an Afghan in Test cricket.
143 not out off 133 balls, Player of the Match, as Afghanistan chased 299.
Why it mattered: his career-best ODI score, and Afghanistan's highest successful chase in the format.
254 runs in nine matches, Afghanistan's leading run-scorer at the tournament.
Why it mattered: he was the one constant in Afghanistan's batting at a World Cup where the side lost all nine matches.
He is a top-order batter who builds innings rather than finishes them in a hurry. He bats right-handed and has been Afghanistan's anchor in the long formats: the leading run-getter in Tests and ODIs, the first Afghan to a Test century, and the first to 1,000 Test runs. His tempo is the point — in Tests he averages 45.34, and the innings that define him are long ones: the 234 against Zimbabwe, the 143 not out against Ireland, the 102 that opened Afghanistan's Test account.
His second skill is genuine. He bowls right-arm leg-break, and in one-day cricket he has 15 wickets at 35.46 with a best of 5 for 32. In the APL his leg-spin won a match: on 12 October 2018 he took 3 for 25 against Kabul Zwanan, bowling wicket-to-wicket with a few variations on a turning pitch, and was Player of the Match. He is a safe fielder, with 34 ODI catches and 8 in Tests.
He made his ODI debut on 6 March 2013 against Scotland, and his first ODI century came against the same opponents on 4 July 2016 at Edinburgh. His Test debut followed on 14 June 2018 against India at Bengaluru, in Afghanistan's inaugural Test, and he has played only one T20I, against India at Mohali on 11 January 2024. In domestic cricket he played for Afghan Cheetahs and Mohammedan SC in Bangladesh, and for Mis Ainak Region, where he was the leading run-scorer and the leading wicket-taker in the 2018 Ghazi Amanullah Khan Regional One Day Tournament, with 258 runs and 8 wickets in five matches. His T20 debut came for Band-e-Amir Dragons in the Shpageeza Cricket League on 12 September 2017.
The captaincy came in stages. He was named Test captain in April 2019, replacing Asghar Afghan, but Rashid Khan took the role across formats after the 2019 World Cup before Rahmat had captained a Test. He served as vice-captain under Hashmatullah Shahidi from May 2021, through the 2023 World Cup and the 2025 Champions Trophy, and on 22 July 2026 the ACB appointed him Test and ODI captain after Shahidi stepped down, with Rahmanullah Gurbaz as his vice-captain. His first assignment was the five-match ODI series in Ireland from 5 August 2026.
He is Afghanistan's leading run-getter in Tests and ODIs, and his 143 not out against Ireland on 15 August 2026, three weeks after taking the captaincy, sealed a record chase of 299, Afghanistan's highest successful chase in the format. He has no IPL career and has played only one T20I, so the APL captaincy is a different kind of leadership test: a long-form anchor asked to lead a T20 franchise.
| Format | Matches | Runs | Highest | Average | 100s / 50s | Wickets | Best bowling |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Test | 12 | 1,043 | 234 | 45.34 | 3 / 6 | 1 | 1/34 |
| ODI | 132 | 4,300 | 143* | 35.83 | 6 / 33 | 15 | 5/32 |
| T20I | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3.00 | 0 / 0 | n/a | n/a |
| First-class | 36 | 2,382 | 234 | 44.11 | 6 / 13 | 17 | 3/30 |
The table is the 15 August 2026 snapshot, so the 143 not out against Ireland is already inside it. No later snapshot was used, and no figure after that date is folded in.
The captain he replaced for Afghanistan; fellow top-order batter and Test mainstay.
Fellow top-order batter; his 114 in Colombo came in a 93-run stand with Rahmat.
His vice-captain for Afghanistan; the two swapped APL captaincies on 3 November 2026.
Nangarhar Cosmic. The franchise picked him as their Afghan Icon at the player draft in Dubai on 3 November 2026 and named him captain, with Toby Radford as head coach and Mark Boucher as mentor. He was first named Paktia captain on 25 October, then swapped to Nangarhar on 3 November, just before the draft.
Yes, in all eight league matches for Nangarhar Leopards: 87 runs and 6 wickets, with best bowling of 3 for 25 against Kabul Zwanan on 12 October 2018, when he was Player of the Match. He was on the bench for the semi-final against Balkh Legends on 19 October 2018 and did not play as Nangarhar lost by 171 runs.
He is a right-handed batter at the top of the order who bowls occasional leg-break. He captains Nangarhar Cosmic in the APL and Afghanistan in Test and ODI cricket.
234 against Zimbabwe in a Test at Bulawayo in December 2024, his maiden Test double century and the highest Test score by an Afghan at the time. In one-day cricket his best is 143 not out against Ireland on 15 August 2026.
On 22 July 2026, when the Afghanistan Cricket Board appointed him Test and ODI captain after Hashmatullah Shahidi stepped down. He had been vice-captain since May 2021, and Rahmanullah Gurbaz was named his vice-captain.
