Afghanistan is the latest test cricketing nation that has emerged in the cricket landscape. Their recent performance in the 2023 World Cup has ensured that they are one of the top white ball teams in the world. They have had some very good players that have played for them. They have had great batters and bowlers. The all rounders that they have had are some of the best in the world. It has only been a little more than 10 years that they have started playing cricket. A team like Bangladesh who have been playing cricket for over 25 years did not grow so much in such little time.
Here is a list of the Top 5 Greatest Afghanistan Cricketers of all time
1) Rashid Khan
There is no doubt as to who is the greatest Afghanistan Cricketer of all time and it is Rashid Khan. He is the biggest superstar that they have and there was one other player who gave him a tough fight for the top spot. Rashid Khan was first seen for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the 2016 IPL season and after that he has grown like a rocket. He has played 82 T20IS for Afghanistan and has taken 130 Wickets for Afghanistan. He is the highest wicket taker for Afghanistan in this format and he still has a decade left in his career. Rashid Khan is also the highest wicket taker for his country in ODIs as well. He has played 103 ODIs for Afghanistan and has taken 183 Wickets. He has already taken 313 Wickets. He has also scored 1316 runs in ODIs.
2) Mohammad Nabi
At number 2 , there can be no other player other than Mohammad Nabi. He has been the longest player in the history of that nation. He has made 3208 runs in ODIs in 156 Matches. He is the second highest run getter for Afghanistan. He is also the second highest wicket taker for Afghanistan in ODIs with 162 Wickets. He has also taken 87 Wickets for Afghanistan in T20IS and he has made 1825 runs for Afghanistan in T20IS. He is at the end of his career and he will retire in a few years. Take a look here at Best Performances of Mohammad Nabi
3) Mohammad Shahzad
The explosive opening batter is the number 3 greatest player for Afghanistan. He was the one who scored runs at a fast pace in both T20IS and ODIs for a number of years. Mohammad Shahzad has a Strike rate of over 132 in T20IS and over 88 in ODIs. He has made 2048 runs for Afghanistan in 73 T20IS and in the ODI format he has scored 2727 runs and he also has 6 ODI hundreds to his name. He has made close to 4800 runs in the white ball format.
4) Asghar Afghan
At number 4 is the former captain of the Afghanistan cricket team Asghar Afghan. He was the talisman for the Afghanistan team for a number of years and he helped groom a lot of young players. He has played 114 ODIs and has made 2424 runs. He has also played in 75 T20IS and he has made 1382 Runs. He has scored over 3800 International runs for Afghanistan. He retired recently. Check out here Best Innings of Asghar Afghan
5) Mujeeb Ur Rahman
The 5th slot goes to another spin bowler who is the main stay of the Afghanistan spin bowling attack and he is Mujeeb Ur Rahman. Mujeeb Ur Rahman has played 75 ODIs for Afghanistan and he has taken 101 wickets. He is the 4th bowler in Afghanistan cricket to take over 100 wickets for Afghanistan. He has also taken 56 Wickets in T20IS for Afghanistan. He is still so young and the face that he is a spinner will help him play at least 12 years more.
