Afghanistan captain Rahmat Shah has made history by becoming the first player from his country to break into the top 10 of the ICC Test rankings, climbing six places to seventh among Test batters after his career-best 173 against Zimbabwe in Sharjah. The achievement, confirmed in the ICC's latest rankings update on Wednesday, is the biggest individual milestone in Afghanistan's short history as a Test-playing nation.
Rahmat, 33, reached a career-best 735 rating points after his innings in the opening match of Afghanistan's two-Test series against Zimbabwe, a high-scoring contest that ended in a draw after both sides produced totals above 500. It was the fifth Test century of his career and his second this year, and it lifted him above India captain Shubman Gill, South Africa opener Aiden Markram and Sri Lanka's Kamindu Mendis into the top 10 for the first time.
The ICC said Rahmat had become the first player from Afghanistan to enter the top 10 in any category of the men's Test player rankings, whether batting, bowling or all-rounder. The Afghanistan Cricket Board celebrated the news on X, posting that a new high had been reached for Rahmat Shah and for Afghanistan, and noting that he had climbed to an impressive seventh position.
Rahmat's rise has been built on a strong year. In three Tests in 2026 he has scored 105 not out and 51 against Bangladesh, and 173 against Zimbabwe, along with knocks of 60 and 13 in the two innings of Afghanistan's one-off Test against India in June at Mullanpur. He succeeded Hashmatullah Shahidi as Afghanistan's Test and ODI captain earlier this year, and has played two Tests as captain so far.
His teammate Sediqullah Atal also made gains in the same rankings update, climbing 14 places after scoring a century, 105, in the first Test against Zimbabwe at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. The biggest gainer in the week's rankings was Bangladesh's Towhid Hridoy, who scored an unbeaten double century, 242, in the first innings of the second Test against Zimbabwe and followed it up with 82 in the second innings. Zimbabwe's Craig Ervine also scored an unbeaten double century in the second innings of the first Test against Afghanistan.
The Test batting rankings are headed by England's Harry Brook and Joe Root, followed by Australia's Travis Head, South Africa's Temba Bavuma and Australia's Steve Smith. India's Rishabh Pant is eighth and Shubman Gill tenth, both having slipped one place in the latest update, which makes Rahmat's climb past them all the more striking.
For Afghanistan, the milestone matters far beyond one player's ranking. The country only gained Test status in 2017 and has played a fraction of the matches of the established nations, with most of its cricket played in exile or at neutral venues. To have a batter in the world's top 10 is a statement that Afghanistan's players can compete with the best, and it gives the team's younger players a standard to aim at.
Rahmat himself has been the backbone of Afghanistan's batting for years, a technically correct right-hander in a team better known for its spinners and its white-ball hitting. His 173 in Sharjah was the kind of long, disciplined innings that Test cricket rewards, and it came in a match where his team needed it most, with Zimbabwe piling up a huge total of their own.
The second Test of the series will give Rahmat a chance to climb further, and the rankings will be updated again after it. For now, though, the number seven next to his name is already a piece of history: the first time an Afghan cricketer has stood among the ten best Test batters in the world, and a moment that will be remembered long after the rankings move on.
