Over the last decade or so, Afghanistan have gradually developed themselves as a cricketing powerhouse in the limited-overs formats.
They have reputed names, like Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Rahmanullah Gurbaz to name a few, but the Afghans have failed to qualify past the group stage in their only two appearances in ODI World Cups — 2015 and 2019.
So, how did they do in the group stages of both editions? Let’s take a look
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World Cup recap: In the first two decades since the inaugural edition of the World Cup in 1975, Afghanistan were never even in the picture since they were not members of the International Cricket Council (ICC).
Despite cricket being a popular sport in the country during the 1990s and 2000s, it was only in 2008 when Afghanistan were in Division Five of the World Cricket League. However, they would go onto climb up the ladder, gaining status as a Full Associate Member in 2013.
Two years later, Afghanistan would make their ODI World Cup debut, in Australia and New Zealand. They were drawn in a tough group, consisting of England, Australia, New Zealand, Bangladesh and Scotland.
Their only win of the tournament would come against Scotland in Dunedin, where Samiullah Shinwari starred with a knock of 96 to help his team chase down 211 with just one wicket to spare.
Fast forward four years, in 2019 in England, Afghanistan would establish themselves as a well-balanced unit with a strong core team.
They had Gulbadin Naib captain the side, while Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Asghar Afghan and Hazratullah Zazai were a few stars to keep an eye on.
Yet, there was nothing much for Afghans to smile about throughout the tournament, after they finished rock-bottom of the 10-team table without any wins, despite putting up a fight against India and Pakistan.
Come the 2023 World Cup, Afghanistan would hope to forget the ghosts of their last two World Cup campaigns and start from scratch, with a fresh mindset.
Edition-wise performances
1975: Did not participate
1979: Did not participate
1983: Did not participate
1987: Did not participate
1992: Did not participate
1996: Did not participate
1999: Did not participate
2003: Did not participate
2007: Did not qualify
2011: Did not qualify
2015: Group stage
2019: Group stage
World Cup record: Matches: 15; Wins: 1; Losses: 14; No Result: 0; Tied: 0
Team records
Highest total: 288 vs West Indies in Leeds, 2019
Lowest total: 111/7 vs England in Sydney, 2015
Individual records
Most runs: Rahmat Shah (3269 runs)
Most wickets: Rashid Khan (172 wickets)
Highest individual score: Samiullah Shinwari (96 vs Scotland in Dunedin, 2015)
Best bowling figures: Mohammad Nabi (4/30 vs Sri Lanka in Cardiff, 2019)
Most catches: Mohammad Nabi (8 catches)
ICC ODI ranking: 9
Schedule
7 October: vs Bangladesh in Dharamsala
11 October: vs India in New Delhi
15 October: vs England in New Delhi
18 October: vs New Zealand in Chennai
23 October: vs Pakistan in Chennai
30 October: vs Sri Lanka in Pune
3 November: vs Netherlands in Lucknow
7 November: vs Australia in Mumbai
10 November: vs South Africa in Ahmedabad
World Cup squad: Hashmatullah Shahidi (captain), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Riaz Hassan, Rahmat Shah, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Ikram Alikhil, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Abdul Rahman, Naveen-ul-Haq.
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