The Afghanistan Cricket Team is run by the Afghanistan Cricket Board, which was formed in 1995, gained an affiliate membership of the ICC in 2001, and an associate status in 2013.

Despite war-like situations, Afghanistan has always had talented players through their ranks, thanks to initial support from the Pakistan Cricket Board and the backing they received from the BCCI. 

The BCCI gave them their stadiums to hold their training camps and home matches while PCB allowed the national team to play in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, Pakistan’s premier first-class competition.  

They played their first major ICC tournament in 2010, during the 2010 World T20, and have participated in every edition since. 

In 2015, Afghanistan made their CWC debut when they won against Scotland in a close-finished game. Next year, they shocked the West Indies during the 2016 World T20 held in India. 

After being granted a full ICC membership along with Ireland in 2017, Afghanistan made their Test debut in 2018 at Bengaluru against India. However, Afghanistan won their first Test against Ireland, a year later, in Dehradun.

In just their third ODI World Cup, the Asian side made history by beating nations like England, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. However, they failed to bag a spot in the knockouts by a close margin, as they lost a heart-breaking game to Australia at Wankhede, Mumbai. 

Destiny had its own way of giving it back. During the 2024 T20 World Cup, Afghanistan bagged a spot in the semifinals after defeating Australia in a Super-8 clash. 

Over the years, Afghanistan have produced several sensational cricketers—Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi, and Asghar Afghar —each of whom has played a pivotal role in shaping the team’s rich cricketing history.

Rashid, who is currently world’s highest wicket-taker in T20Is, even became the first Afghan player to play in the IPL in 2017 and since then, several Afghan players have been picked up by IPL franchises. Also, the Afghan players are popular across various T20 leagues around the globe. 

(As of September 2025)