Factfile on Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi ahead of the Cricket World Cup which gets underway in India on Thursday:

Name: Hashmatullah Shahidi

Age: 28

Playing role: Batsman

INTERNATIONAL ODI CAREER

Matches: 64

Runs: 1 175

Highest score: 97 not out

Average: 32.27

100s: 0

50s: 16

Named as captain in May 2021, Hashmatullah took over from Asghar Afghan whose second stint in the job lasted just 15 months as the Afghanistan Cricket Board indulged in the captaincy equivalent of musical chairs.

Asghar had been replaced for the first time on the eve of the disastrous 2019 World Cup by Gulbadin Naib who oversaw nine defeats in nine games and lasted just six months before Asghar was recalled.

Left-handed batsman Hashmatullah became his country's first test double-centurion when he made an undefeated 200 on debut against India in 2018.

His best ODI score of 97 not out was made against Pakistan at Abu Dhabi in 2018 while two of his 16 half-centuries came in his two most recent matches against Bangladesh and Pakistan at the Asia Cup.