Rahmat Shah to captain Afghanistan in 5-match ODI series vs Ireland

Rahmat Shah will lead Afghanistan in a five-match ODI series against Ireland. New leadership Rahmat Shah takes charge of the Afghan side for this series. It marks a key opportunity for him to set the tone as captain. It’s a five-match ODI series, giving both teams plenty of time to test combinations and build. Afghanistan will look to build consistency under new captaincy, while Ireland will be aiming to challenge them on home/neutral conditions depending on where the series is played. From the three-match series they played against India in June, and lost 3-0, they have moved Fareed Malik and Bilal Sami to the reserves bench. Veteran allrounder Mohammad Nabi, part of the India series, is not travelling either: he is instead participating for Guyana Amazon Warriors in the Global Super League in Guyana, which ends on August 2. Ahmadzai and Farooqi last played 50-over cricket for Afghanistan in November 2022 and February 2025 respectively. Farooqi and has been keeping his levels up with a stint in the ongoing Lanka Premier League. He has picked up five wickets in two matches for Dambulla Sixers. Captaincy change Rahmat Shah will lead Afghanistan for the first time. He’s been vice-captain in Tests and ODIs since 2021. He’s also Afghanistan’s leading ODI run-scorer: 4121 runs at 35.22. Hashmatullah Shahidi returns as a regular player. He stepped down after captaining Afghanistan in 55 ODIs from Jan 2022 to the India series last month. It’s a big transition for Afghanistan. Rahmat gets his first shot at captaincy while Shahidi slots back in as a senior batter. A 5-game series gives both plenty of time to settle. Rahmat Shah (c), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (vc, wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Sediqullah Atal, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Darwish Rasooli, Azmatullah Omarzai, Ikram Alikhil (wk), Nangyal Kharotai, Rashid Khan, AM Ghazanfar, Yamin Ahmadzai, Saleem Safi, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Zia Ur Rahman Sharifi