Afghanistan team has been improving itself since their first match of international cricket. Today they have strong batting and bowling lineups. Their batters are aggressive, and they show consistency in their performance. They play quickly against both the spin and pace bowlers. Here, we will rank the top ten Afghanistani batters with the most runs scored in their international careers. The records are mentioned as per the date 3 May 2022.
10. Nawroz Mangal
Nawroz Mangal is a former right-handed top-order batsman who played limited-overs cricket for Afghanistan from 2009 to 2017. After retiring from international cricket in January 2017, he became the chief national selector for the Afghanistan Cricket Board. With two centuries and six half-centuries, Mangal scored 1644 runs throughout his International career. He makes it into the tenth position on the list.
9. Gulbadin Naib
With right-arm medium-fast bowling and right-handed middle-order batting, Gulbadin Naib is an all-rounder and the former captain of the Afghanistan cricket team. He played his first international match as an ODI against Canada in August 2011. He is in the ninth position on the list with 1678 International runs in his career to date.
8. Hashmatullah Shahidi
Hashmatullah Shahidi is a top-order left-handed batsman and the first-ever Afghanistani cricketer to score a double hundred in tests. He played his first test against India in June 2018. To date, Shahidi scored 13 half-centuries and a century internationally. With 1698 runs, he makes it into the eighth position on the list.
7. Noor Ali Zadran
Noor Ali Zadran is a right-handed batsman who played International cricket for Afghanistan from 2009 to 2019. In April 2009, he played his ODI debut against Scotland and scored 45 runs. Throughout his international career, he scored 1722 runs, including a century and ten half-centuries. Hence, he is in the seventh position on the list.
6. Samiullah Shinwari
Samiullah Shinwari is an all-rounder with right-handed batting and right-arm leg break bowling. He is the only Afghanistani cricketer to score 1000+ runs and take a five-wicket haul in the T20I format. In 2019, he was the skipper of Afghanistan's squad for the ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup in Bangladesh. His 2824 International runs bring him into the fifth position on the list.
5. Najibullah Zadran
Being a left-handed middle-order batsman, Najibullah Zadran is the current vice-captain in the T20I format for the Afghanistan National Cricket Team. He was a member of Afghanistan's 15-man squad for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 and Afghanistan's squad for the 2021 ICC Men's T20 World Cup. He is in the fifth position on the list with 3096 International runs.
4. Rahmat Shah
Rahmat Shah is a right-handed batter and right-arm leg-break bowler. He made his first international appearance for Afghanistan in June 2013 in an ODI against Scotland. Shah became the first batsman from Afghanistan to score a century in the test format in September 2019. With 3138 runs scored on the international level, he is in the fourth position on the list.
3. Asghar Afghan
Asghar Afghan is a former right-handed middle-order batsman and the captain of the Afghanistan cricket team. He was the captain of Afghanistan's playing 11 in their inaugural test match against India. He took retirement from all forms of cricket after Afghanistan's match against Namibia in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2021. He scored 4246 runs internationally and made it into the third position on the list.
2. Mohammad Nabi
With right-handed batting and right-arm off break bowling, Mohammad Nabi has been an all-rounder playing International cricket for Afghanistan since 2009. Currently, he is the skipper of the national team in the T20I format. He holds the record for the fastest half-century scored by an Afghanistani cricketer in the T20I form. With 4441 International runs, he is in the second spot on the list.
1. Mohammad Shahzad
Mohammad Shahzad is a right-handed opening batsman and also a wicket-keeper. He holds the record for the most dismissals as a wicket-keeper in a single T20I inning. Due to his destructive batting, Shahzad has the record for the joint-fastest half-century scored by a batsman in the T10 format. He is in the top position on the list with 4811 runs scored on the International level.
