Shahidullah Kamal

Shahidullah Kamal, an upcoming talented talent coming from the Khost region of Afghanistan. He is a mainstay left-handed batsman and a part-time left-arm spinner. Boasted from the age-group cricket, Shahidullah is still a youngster, who is potentially-able to reach the highest level and stay there for a long period of time. 

The southpaw got his due recognition during the U-19 World Cup of 2014, held in UAE. Although Afghanistan finished in seventh place, a 15-year-old Shahidullah enjoyed his time in the tournament. He was the tenth-highest getter in the ICC event and the highest from his contingent, with 251 runs at 50.20, including three fifties. 

After the Junior World Cup, the southpaw had to wait for three years to make his List-A debut against Zimbabwe A in January 2017. Shahidullah opened the batting and hit 22 runs, alongside scalping a wicket. Later that year, Shahidullah made his first-class debut where he starred with scoring a 63 in the second innings and played a vital cog in his region’s success. 

In 2017, he was picked by Band-e-Amir Dragons for the 2017 Shpageeza Cricket League to make his T20 debut. A year later, Shahidullah was selected by Kabul in the inaugural season of the Afghanistan Premier League. He was part of the U-23 team for the ACC Emerging Asia Cup in 2018. 

In February 2021, Shahidullah got his maiden call-up for Afghanistan's Test squad for the Zimbabwe series and made his debut during the second game of the series. The southpaw didn’t get the chance to bat on debut as his team posted a mammoth first innings total. 

With age and first experience on Shahidullah’s side, the potent all-rounder will surely get many opportunities in the coming future to stamp his authority and cement his place across all formats. 

(As of March 2021)