Rahmat Shah has become the first player from Afghanistan to reach the top 10 of any ICC Men’s Test ranking category. The Afghanistan captain climbed six places to seventh in the Test batting rankings after scoring 173 in the opening Test against Zimbabwe in Sharjah.
For a country with a short Test history, that is a bigger deal than a single number suggests. This CricketFocus explainer covers what Rahmat achieved, how the ICC rankings work, who he moved ahead of, and why one innings changed so much.
Quick Answer
Rahmat Shah moved up six places to seventh in the ICC Men’s Test batting rankings on 11 November 2026, after his 173 against Zimbabwe in Sharjah. He is the first Afghanistan player to reach the top 10 of any Test player ranking, and the innings was his fifth Test century.
What Did Rahmat Shah Achieve?
The ICC confirmed the move on 11 November 2026 in its weekly rankings update. Rahmat rose from outside the top 10 to seventh, and the jump also gave him a new career-high rating.
Two parts of that sentence matter for a new cricket fan.
First, the top 10 is a small group. Only a handful of batters in the world sit inside it at any time, and most of them play for teams with long Test histories.
Second, this is the first time any Afghanistan player has been in the top 10 of any Test ranking category. That includes batting, bowling and all-rounder lists. Before this week, no Afghan player had broken through in any of them.
The innings that did it came in Sharjah, in the opening match of Afghanistan’s two-match Test series against Zimbabwe. The match was drawn.
How Do the ICC Test Rankings Work?
The ICC keeps separate player rankings for each format and each role. There is a batting list, a bowling list and an all-rounder list for Tests, ODIs and T20Is.
A player’s position on those lists comes from a rating, not from career totals. The rating rewards recent performances, so a batter who scores heavily this month can pass a batter with far more runs overall.
That is why a single big innings can move a player several places. It is also why the rankings change almost every week during a busy Test schedule.
For readers who want the wider picture, our guide to the World Test Championship explains how the Test game is structured and why some matches count for more than others.
Rating and Ranking Are Not the Same Thing
The two words get used together, but they mean different things. A rating is the number a player carries. A ranking is the position that number gives him compared with everyone else.
That difference explains why a player can improve his rating and still stay in the same place, or even drop a spot. If two batters both have good weeks, the one who improves less can lose ground even while scoring runs.
It also explains why the top 10 is hard to enter and hard to defend. Everyone inside it is playing the same schedule, so holding a place means keeping pace with the group, not just performing well once.
Why the 173 Mattered So Much
Rahmat’s 173 was his fifth Test century and his second of 2026. That combination is what pushed his rating to a new high.
A century in a drawn Test still counts fully for the individual rankings, because the ratings measure the player’s own output rather than the team result. That is an important difference from the team rankings, which only move when a series is decided.
The Zimbabwe innings also had context. Afghanistan were playing at a neutral venue in Sharjah rather than at home, and the pitch offered enough for the bowlers to make a big first-innings score valuable.
Craig Ervine of Zimbabwe also gained from the same match, rising nine places to 48th after an unbeaten double-century in the second innings. Two batters from one drawn Test moved up sharply, which shows how sensitive the ratings are to a single performance.
Who Did He Move Ahead Of?
The ICC named three batters that Rahmat passed on the way into the top 10:
- Shubman Gill, the India captain
- Aiden Markram, the South Africa opener
- Kamindu Mendis, the Sri Lanka left-hander
Those are three of the most highly rated batters in the world right now. Passing them in one week is a good way to explain how quickly the list can change when a player has a strong series.
Gill in particular has been in excellent form, and he is the batter most readers will want to look up first.
Who Is Rahmat Shah?
Rahmat Shah is a 33-year-old right-handed batter who also bowls leg-break and googly. His ICC player profile lists him as an all-rounder with an international debut in 2013.
He became Afghanistan’s ODI and Test captain on 22 July 2026, after Hashmatullah Shahidi stepped down from the role. At the time of his appointment the ICC noted that he had played 128 ODIs and 12 Tests for Afghanistan, and that he had been vice-captain during the team’s most successful period.
That period included the 2023 Cricket World Cup, where Afghanistan beat England, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the Netherlands. They narrowly missed the knockout stage but qualified for the Champions Trophy 2025 for the first time.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz was named vice-captain alongside him. The pair now lead a team that is still building its Test record, which makes a top-10 ranking an important marker for the whole programme.
Important
A top-10 ranking is a form rating, not a statement that a player is the seventh best batter of all time. The ICC list moves every week, and a quiet series can drop a player several places. Rahmat’s ranking reflects his recent Test output, which is why one big innings carried so much weight.
A Good Fortnight for Afghanistan
The ranking is part of a wider run of results. Earlier in November, Afghanistan reached sixth in the ICC Men’s ODI Team Rankings, their highest position ever, after winning a tri-series against Zimbabwe and Bangladesh.
For a team that plays fewer Tests than the established nations, progress shows up in different places. Team rankings move with series results. Player rankings move with individual performances. Both are climbing at the same time right now.
That matters for the players too. A top-10 ranking makes a case for more Test fixtures, better scheduling and more attention from broadcasters, which is exactly what a developing Test nation needs.
What Comes Next for Rahmat Shah
The two-match series against Zimbabwe in Sharjah is the immediate focus, and the second Test gives him a chance to protect or improve the new rating.
Afghanistan’s Test schedule is thinner than most, so every innings carries more weight in the ratings than it would for a player with 30 Tests a year. That cuts both ways. A big score lifts a player quickly, and a poor run can drop him just as fast.
That is the trade-off for a developing Test nation. Fewer matches mean fewer chances to build a rating, but also fewer chances for a bad series to drag it down. Rahmat’s position at seventh is therefore a snapshot of what he has done recently, not a guarantee of where he will be in six months.
For now, the fact is simple and it is official. Rahmat Shah is seventh in the ICC Men’s Test batting rankings, and he is the first Afghanistan player to reach the top 10 of any Test player list.
Frequently Asked Questions
What rank is Rahmat Shah in Test cricket?
He is seventh in the ICC Men’s Test batting rankings, after climbing six places on 11 November 2026.
Is Rahmat Shah the first Afghanistan player in the top 10?
Yes. He is the first Afghanistan player to reach the top 10 in any category of the ICC Men’s Test Player Rankings, including batting, bowling and all-rounder lists.
How many Test centuries does Rahmat Shah have?
Five. The 173 against Zimbabwe in Sharjah was his fifth Test century and his second in 2026, according to the ICC.
Who is the captain of Afghanistan in Test cricket?
Rahmat Shah. He was appointed ODI and Test captain on 22 July 2026 after Hashmatullah Shahidi stepped down, with Rahmanullah Gurbaz as vice-captain.
Do drawn Tests count in the ICC player rankings?
Yes. Player ratings measure individual performances, so a century in a drawn match still counts in full. Team rankings are the ones that depend on series results.
The Bottom Line
One innings in Sharjah moved Rahmat Shah from outside the top 10 to seventh in the world, and it moved Afghanistan into a group of Test nations that have produced a top-10 player.
The ranking can change again within a week. The milestone cannot. For a team still writing its Test history, that is the part worth remembering.
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