Hashmatullah Shahidi Resigns as Afghanistan ODI Captain

Kabul. Hashmatullah Shahidi has resigned from the captaincy of Afghanistan's ODI team with immediate effect. 

Shahidi led Afghanistan in 55 ODI matches from January 2022 until the recent series played against India in India in June 2026.

During the 31-year-old Shahidi's captaincy, Afghanistan played one Asia Cup and one World Cup in 2023, and the Champions Trophy in 2025. Afghanistan won 27 matches under his captaincy. 

The 2023 World Cup included wins against England, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and the Netherlands, where Afghanistan came close to the semi-finals.

Finishing sixth in that tournament, Afghanistan secured its place in the 2025 Champions Trophy held in Dubai. 

There they defeated England again, but failed to reach the semi-finals after the match against Australia was washed out. Under Shahidi's captaincy, Afghanistan defeated Bangladesh three times, Zimbabwe twice, and South Africa and Ireland once each in bilateral series.

Shahidi's batting statistics as captain were not much different from when he was not captain. When not captain, he scored runs at an average of 32.97 and a strike rate of 64.39. After becoming captain, these numbers improved slightly to an average of 33.79 and a strike rate of 70.77.

His only century in his 96 ODI career came in the last match played against India in Chennai, where he scored 102 runs off 131 balls. Afghanistan's next match is in August, when the team will tour Ireland for five ODIs.