Afghan goes past Dhoni to become most successful captain in T20Is

Asghar Afghan has moved past MS Dhoni to become the most successful T20 International (T20I) captain. With a comprehensive 47-run win in the third T20I against Zimbabwe in Abu Dhabi, Afghan now has 42 wins under his belt, while Dhoni, who last led India in 2016 secured 41 victories. Eoin Morgan (33), Sarfaraz Ahmed (29) and two-time T20 World Cup winning captain Daren Sammy (27) are next in line.

Overall, Afghan has played 72 matches for Afghanistan, out of which 52 have come as captain – a role he took on in 2015. 

As captain of the side, Afghan, who has batted in all positions from three to six, has scored 805 runs at 23.39 and a strike-rate of 122.52. Two of his four career fifties have come when he has led the side. 

In the series against Zimbabwe, he started off with a 38-ball 55 in the first match and followed that up with an unbeaten 14, and in the third T20I, he scored 24 off 12 to cap off a 3-0 whitewash. He was in excellent form in the Test series preceding the T20Is as well, scoring 92, 50 and 164 in three innings as the series finished 1-1.

Afghanistan are currently in seventh position in the ICC T20I rankings, above the likes of Bangladesh, defending T20 World Cup champions West Indies and Sri Lanka.