Hashmatullah Shahidi Archives

Afghanistan captain confident of reaching Champions Trophy semi-final

Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi has made it clear that his team is focused on delivering a strong performance in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 clash against England, scheduled to be played in Lahore on 26 February.

Reflecting on Afghanistan’s famous win over England in the 2023 ODI World Cup, Shahidi acknowledged the significance of that match but stressed that it’s now a thing of the past.

“We played a great game against England in 2023, but that is history now. We will take the field with a fresh mindset and new preparations,” he stated.

With discussions around Afghanistan’s semifinal chances heating up, Shahidi dismissed any external noise, asserting that only performance on the field will determine their fate.

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“No matter what people say, nothing changes. If we want to reach the semifinals, we have to put in the hard work on the field,” he added.

Hashmatullah Shahidi admitted that the conditions in Karachi did not favour their spinners. However, he remains hopeful that the Lahore pitch will offer more assistance.

“Our spinners didn’t get much help in Karachi, but we are hopeful that conditions in Lahore will be in our favour,” he said.

Afghanistan’s coaching setup includes Pakistan legend Younis Khan, and Shahidi highlighted the immense value his presence brings to the team.

“Younis Khan is a legend, and we are trying to benefit from his experience. When he speaks, everyone listens,” Shahidi remarked.

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The Afghan captain believes Younis’ deep understanding of Pakistan’s pitches and conditions can be a game-changer for the team.

“He has played a lot of cricket in Pakistan, and he knows these pitches and grounds well. We will try to use that knowledge to our advantage,” he added.

Looking ahead to the England game, Shahidi expressed confidence in his batting unit, reminding everyone that Afghanistan’s lineup has shown its strength in the past.

“If we look at the past, our team has put up strong batting performances. I believe we still have a solid batting lineup,” he concluded.

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Four Pakistanis in Hashmatullah Shahidi’s All-time ODI XI

Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi has recently unveiled his all-time ODI XI which featured four players from Pakistan.

Shahidi appeared in a podcast with an Indian journalist and was asked to share his all-time ODI XI, to which he responded with a star-studded lineup.

He picked Pakistan’s former swashbuckling opening batter Saeed Anwar to partner with current Indian captain Rohit Sharma at the top of the order, making an explosive pair.

The Afghan captain then named Indian batting maestro Virat Kohli, who is considered the best batter of the modern era.

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Meanwhile, Sri Lankan great Kumar Sangakkara was slated at number four, followed by former Pakistani captain Inzamam ul Haq and Mahela Jayawardene.

Other Pakistani players in his lineup were wicket-keeper batter Rashid Latif and fast bowler Waqar Younis, while England’s Andrew Flintoff was picked to fill the all-rounder’s slot.

Hashmatullah Shahidi named Rashid Khan as the sole spinner in the lineup, along with Indian pace bowler Jasprit Bumrah.

All-time ODI XI of Hashmatullah Shahidi: Saeed Anwar, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Kumar Sangakkara, Inzamam ul Haq, Mahela Jayawardene, Rashid Latif, Andrew Flintoff, Rashid Khan, Waqar Younis, and Jasprit Bumrah.

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Afghanistan captain makes bold prediction about Champions Trophy semi-finalists

Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi on Wednesday, made a bold prediction regarding the semi-finalist teams of the ICC Champions Trophy, scheduled to be held in Pakistan next year.

Shahidi appeared in a podcast with an Indian journalist and was asked to share which four teams he foresee in the semi-finals of the Champions Trophy 2025.

In response, the Afghanistan captain picked Afghanistan, India, England, and Australia, leaving out Pakistan – the hosts of the eight-team tournament. His answer prompted the podcast host to mention Bangladesh’s first-ever Test series victory over Pakistan.

But Hashmatullah Shahidi swiftly countered, stating, “The formats are different; this one is ODI now, and it’s a different format.”

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Shahidi also commented on the growing intense rivalry between Pakistan and Afghanistan and also shared insights regarding their famous victory over the former champions in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 which came after a series of heartbreaks for the Atalans.

“Back home, people were very happy. If you look at previous World Cups, the Asia Cup, and series against Pakistan, we came very close but didn’t win. The 2019 World Cup match was in our hands but slipped away, and in the 2022 Asia Cup, we faced heartbreak when Fazal Haq got hit for two sixes by Naseem Shah. We had lost almost eight matches that we were winning,” Shahidi reflected.

“When we got the opportunity, I was lucky to lead the team, and I finished the match. After winning, it felt great; I couldn’t sleep the whole night out of happiness.”

When asked to compare Afghanistan’s victory over Pakistan in the ODI World Cup to that of their triumph over Australia in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024, Hashmatullah Shahidi emphasized both wins were important but described beating Pakistan as “monumental”.

“Both wins were important, but the victory over Pakistan in the ODI World Cup was monumental; people were incredibly happy.”

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Afghanistan captain demands ‘one good home venue’ in India to improve in Test cricket

Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi has expressed his wish to have one permanent home venue in India ahead of the one-off Test against New Zealand.

Afghanistan was granted Test status in 2017 after becoming a Full Member of the International Cricket Council (ICC).

However, due to the political situation in Afghanistan, they cannot play international cricket back home in Afghanistan, consequently playing their home Test matches in Abu Dhabi and different venues in India.

They are set to host New Zealand for a one-off Test in Greater Noida, near Delhi, starting from September 9.

However, Shahidi has claimed that Afghanistan’s performance in red-ball cricket will improve if they have one permanent home venue rather than playing at different venues.

“If you see, India is our home and when we host teams, the other nations have played more cricket than us here,” Shahidi said while addressing the media ahead of the New Zealand Test.

“So hopefully we will get one good venue here in India and we stick with that. If we stick with one venue, it will be more effective for us.”

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The Afghanistan captain also expressed hope that in future they might be able to host test matches in their own country, however, until then he wishes to have a dedicated home venue in India.

“And one more thing, if you see our players, they have a good record in first-class cricket because we play in our own grounds [in Afghanistan]. We know our own conditions very well. So hopefully the time comes in future that teams come to Afghanistan,” he added.

“Hopefully, our cricket board and BCCI give us a good venue in India and we play a lot of cricket at one venue.”

Hashmatullah Shahidi also highlighted the lack of Test matches against top teams as the reason behind Afghanistan’s below-par showing in the longer format.

For the unversed, Afghanistan suffered a bruising introduction to Test cricket in 2018 when they lost to India within two days.

Since then, they have played a total of nine Tests against Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Ireland.

“In six years, nine games is not, I cannot say it’s a lot,” Shahidi said. “If we get a lot more chances with the good teams, we will improve, and our cricket board is doing that job.”

” I think if we get more chances on a regular basis, we will improve a lot because if we see as a team and as a country, we are brave people and we always accept challenges.”

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