Samiullah Shinwari

A hefty striker and more than a handy leg-break bowler, Samiullah Shenwari has been an important cog in Afghanistan’s wheel of success. He made his FC debut against Zimbabwe XI in 2009 and became a part of the Afghanistan team which got its ODI status in the same year.

He commenced his ODI career with a half century on his debut in 2009. Later, he got his T20I cap in 2010 and in 2012, Shenwari was included in the T20I squad for the World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka. Since then, he has been the aggressor in the middle order for his team and played crucial innings for them.

His match-winning innings against Bangladesh in Asia Cup 2014 where along with Asghar Stanikzai, he put on a partnership of 164 further proved his potential. That innings not only made him a regular in the starting XI but also created a few records for his team as well, the most notable one being - the first-ever century partnership for the sixth wicket for Afghanistan.

His leg breaks has taken a backseat as compared to his batting prowess and yet, he has done a reasonable job with the ball. The talent of Shenwari has been potently used by the Afghanistan team. He has played in the ODIs as well as the T20Is and in 2018, he got his spot reserved in the Afghanistan Test squad for their first-ever Test match, which they played against India in India and lost inside two days.