Rahmat Shah
Afghan cricketer (born 1993)
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Rahmat Shah Zurmatai (Pashto: رحمت شاه زرمتی; born 6 July 1993) is an Afghan cricketer who plays for the Afghanistan national cricket team. He is a right-handed batsman and an occasional leg break bowler.[1] He made his international debut in an ODI against Scotland in March 2013.[2] He was one of the eleven cricketers to play in Afghanistan's first ever Test match, against India, in June 2018. In September 2019, in the one-off Test between Afghanistan and Bangladesh, Rahmat scored Afghanistan's first century in Test cricket.[3]
Shah in 2021 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Rahmat Shah Zurmatai | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 6 July 1993 Zurmat, Paktia, Afghanistan | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Batting | Right-handed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling | Right-arm leg break | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Role | All-rounder | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National side |
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| Test debut (cap 8) | 14 June 2018 v India | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last Test | 2 January 2025 v Zimbabwe | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ODI debut (cap 29) | 6 March 2013 v Scotland | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last ODI | 11 October 2025 v Ireland | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ODI shirt no. | 8 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Only T20I (cap 54) | 11 January 2024 v India | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Domestic team information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2013 | Afghan Cheetahs | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2013/14–2014/15 | Mohammedan Sporting Club | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2017 | Mis Ainak Region | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: ESPNcricinfo, 1 February 2026 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Domestic career
Rahmat was named in a number of first-class and One-Day International squads for Afghanistan. He has played List A cricket for Afghanistan against Pakistan A and other domestic teams in Pakistan, such as Faisalabad and Rawalpindi.[4][5] He made his Twenty20 debut for Band-e-Amir Dragons in the 2017 Shpageeza Cricket League on 12 September 2017.[6]
In July 2018, Rahmat was the leading run-scorer for Mis Ainak Region in the 2018 Ghazi Amanullah Khan Regional One Day Tournament, with 258 runs in five matches.[7] He was also the leading wicket-taker for the team in the tournament, with eight dismissals in five matches.[7]
International career
Rahmat made his One Day International (ODI) debut for Afghanistan against Scotland on 6 March 2013.[8] On 4 July 2016, he made his first century in an ODI during Afghanistan's tour of Scotland.[9][10]
In May 2018, Rahmat was named in Afghanistan's squad for their inaugural Test match, played against India.[11][12] He made his Test debut for Afghanistan, against India, on 14 June 2018.[13] In February 2019, he was named in Afghanistan's Test squad for their one-off match against Ireland in India.[14][15]
In April 2019, Rahmat was named in Afghanistan's squad for the 2019 Cricket World Cup.[16][17] He finished the tournament as the leading run-scorer for Afghanistan, with 254 runs in nine matches.[18]
In April 2019, the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) named Shah as the team's new Test captain, replacing Asghar Afghan.[19][20] However, following the 2019 Cricket World Cup, Rashid Khan was named as the new captain of the Afghanistan cricket team across all three formats.[21] Therefore, Rahmat was replaced before captaining the team in a Test match.[22]
In September 2019, Rahmat scored a century in the one-off Test match against Bangladesh, becoming the first batsman for Afghanistan to score a century in a Test match.[23]
In January 2024, Shah was named in Afghanistan's Twenty20 International (T20I) squads for their series against India.[24] On 11 January 2024, He made his T20I debut for Afghanistan against India.[25]
In December 2024, he made his maiden Test match double century in the first of a two-match series against Zimbabwe.[26] His 234 was also the highest score by an Afghan batter in a Test match that point,[27][28][29] although it was surpassed by teammate Hashmatullah Shahidi who made 246 later in the same match.[30]
T20 franchise career
In September 2018, Rahmat was named in Nangarhar's squad in the first edition of the Afghanistan Premier League tournament.[31]