A young opening batsman who has shown a great deal of ability already in his short career, and will be hoping that the World Cup is the stage where he gets that first international century.
Born: November 4, 1994
Role: Left-hand bat, right-arm offbreak
Shahidi is one of the younger members of the Afghanistan squad and that should tell you all you need to know about the hard work he has put in to reach this stage so soon.
The left-hander worked hard during the age-group teams and that subsequently led to a breakthrough into the senior team.
The 24-year-old, who idolises former Sri Lanka wicketkeeper and captain Kumar Sangakkara started his journey with the Under 17 side and then earned a place in the 2010 Under-19 World Cup squad in New Zealand.
He was part of that same squad four years later, and that side managed to beat Australia and Sri Lanka, and his efforts in those victories saw him rewarded with a place in Afghanistan’s first full tour of Zimbabwe.
While he has made just one T20I appearance all the way back in 2013, his stock in the ODI format rose dramatically last year after he smashed an unbeaten 97 in their first Super Four Asia Cup tie against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi.
That was the standout knock for the batsman who made his ODI debut against Kenya in October 2013, in a competition in which he also made 58 and 71 against Bangladesh.
The left-hander also top scored in the second innings of Afghanistan’s inaugural Test match against India in Bengaluru with 36, albeit in a losing cause as Afghanistan lost in two days.
Nevertheless, these recent knocks against two of Asia’s biggest teams suggest that big things could be on the horizon for Shahidi.
AFGHANISTAN PLAYER PROFILES
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