Darwish Rasooli: Afghanistan’s Asian Games 2026 Captain, Profile, Stats and Career
Darwish Rasooli, sometimes spelled Darvish Rasooli, is the Afghanistan batter leading his country’s men’s cricket team at the Asian Games 2026. He top-searched in India after Afghanistan beat Japan by 48 runs on 24 September 2026, with Rasooli making 29 as captain. Here is a complete profile.
Quick facts
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Full name | Darwish Rasooli |
| Born | 12 December 1999, Laghman, Afghanistan |
| Role | Right-handed batter; bowls right-arm off-breaks |
| T20I debut | 3 March 2022, against Bangladesh |
| ODI debut | 17 June 2026, against India |
| Franchise teams | Mis Ainak Knights, Balkh Legends, Dhaka Dynamites, and Khulna Tigers (added in 2025) |
Career numbers
Career figures below are as listed on Wikipedia as of July 2026 and do not include matches played since.
| Format | Matches | Runs | Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| T20 Internationals | 28 | 515 | 22.39 |
| One-Day Internationals | 2 | 7 | – |
| First-class | 30 | 2,681 | 60.93 |
| List A | 73 | 3,029 | 54.08 |
From domestic cricket to the national team
- An early hundred. In his second List A match, on 16 August 2017, Rasooli scored 130 not out, his first century.
- Domestic run-machine. He was the leading run-scorer in the 2018 Ahmad Shah Abdali four-day tournament, with 1,073 runs in eight matches.
- International debut. He made his T20I debut against Bangladesh in March 2022 and has since played 28 T20Is, with his ODI debut following in June 2026 against India.
- Leagues. He has played for Mis Ainak Knights and Balkh Legends in Afghanistan’s domestic league, and for Dhaka Dynamites and Khulna Tigers in Bangladesh’s franchise cricket.
Captain at the Asian Games 2026
In August 2026 Afghanistan named a 15-member squad for the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, with Rasooli as captain in place of regular skipper Rashid Khan. The squad is young: it contains six uncapped players alongside experienced names such as Najibullah Zadran (199 caps) and Karim Janat (80 caps). At the time of selection Rasooli had 33 international caps. He had captained Afghanistan once before, in a one-off T20I against Qatar, which Afghanistan won thanks to his innings of 66.
His first match as Games captain
In the opening match against Japan on 24 September, Rasooli made 29 as Afghanistan posted 129 for 6, then saw his bowlers dismiss Japan for 81 to win by 48 runs. Read the full match report and tournament guide.
What to watch next
- Afghanistan’s remaining Group A game against Nepal, and whether they finish in the top two to reach the quarter-finals.
- How the young squad’s new players, including debutant Arab Gul who took 4 for 8, perform as the knockout stage nears.
