Darwish Rasooli Profile, Career & Stats

Known for his powerful stroke play, Darwish Rasooli is a right-handed batter and a right-arm off-break bowler who plays for the Afghanistan Cricket Team. The right-hand batter was born in Laghman, Afghanistan. He represented the Afghanistan U-19 team at the 2018 Under-19 World Cup. 

Rasooli made his T20 International debut for Afghanistan in March 2022 against Bangladesh. The Laghman-born was named in the Afghanistan squad for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup in Australia.

By January 2022, Darwish Rasooli was perched at the edge of possibility — a name whispered by selectors, a talent watched by coaches, and a player who had already turned heads in the Shpageeza League and the Under-19 World Cup circuit. His debut against Bangladesh that March was the first small step in a journey that many in Afghan cricket circles believed could blossom into something much larger. 

His debut T20I in Dhaka was not spectacular on paper, but it told a story. Walking into the middle of Afghanistan colours, he faced bowlers with far more experience and handled himself with a composure that suggested this stage was not beyond him. The runs he scored were modest, but the fluency of his square cuts and the instinctive way he got into position for the pull shot were noted by pundits. Afghanistan, known for its explosive stroke-makers, saw in Rasooli a batter who could combine power with composure and add stability to the chaos.

Through 2022, his international appearances were sporadic, but his domestic game blossomed. For Mis Ainak Knights in the Shpageeza Cricket League, Rasooli was a beacon of consistency. In one standout innings, he produced a 61 off 35 balls against Band-e-Amir Dragons, walking in when his team was struggling and lifting them with a blend of timing and aggression. 

Later that year, Afghanistan announced its squad for the T20 World Cup in Australia, and Rasooli’s name was among the chosen. For a boy from Laghman, it was the realisation of a dream — to be part of cricket’s most global carnival. His chance came against Ireland at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, where he scored 17 runs in a nervy but determined outing. It wasn’t the innings that would change headlines, but the experience mattered. 

In 2023, he began integrating those lessons into performances. Against Zimbabwe in Sharjah, Rasooli was given consecutive games, and in the second T20I, he produced his most impressive international knock to date: a fluent 42 off 29 deliveries. Coming in at number four with Afghanistan wobbling, he counterattacked with maturity. His timing against the spinners was assured, and when the pacers pitched short, he rocked back to pull decisively. Though Afghanistan lost the match, Rasooli’s innings drew praise from commentators who noted how easily he seemed to find rhythm under pressure.

The same year, he was handed his ODI debut against Sri Lanka in Hambantota. It was not easy going. The ball swung under cloudy skies, and Sri Lanka’s attack tested him with patience. Rasooli scratched and scraped his way to 28 runs off 54 deliveries, not a glamorous score, but an important one for what it showed. Here was a young man willing to fight, willing to graft, willing to value his wicket. For Afghanistan, which often relied too heavily on flair and collapses, Rasooli’s willingness to endure was refreshing.

When the ODI World Cup in India came around later in 2023, Rasooli found himself in the 15-man squad. He was not a guaranteed starter, but the management trusted his temperament. Against the Netherlands in Lucknow, he was finally handed a chance, and he delivered with 47 off 62 balls. 

The following year, 2024, brought both promise and disappointment. Domestically, Rasooli thrived. In the Ghazi Amanullah Khan Regional One-Day Cup, he scored 384 runs in nine matches at an average above 42, including three half-centuries. 

Internationally, though, 2024 was tougher. In the T20 World Cup in the West Indies and the USA, Rasooli featured in three matches. His scores, 22, 13, and 10, added up to just 45 runs, and he never quite found fluency on pitches that demanded adaptability. 

Critics began to question whether he was truly suited for T20 cricket at the highest level, given his methodical approach to the game. Still, selectors did not give up on him, largely because of his domestic dominance. 

For Afghanistan, he represents something important: a middle-order player who can stabilise chaos. In a lineup dominated by hitters who thrive on instinct, Rasooli’s calmness is an asset. His journey so far is not of fireworks but of steady embers, glowing quietly, waiting for the chance to blaze brighter. And when that moment comes, as it inevitably will if he keeps building on his consistency, Darwish Rasooli may yet become the batter Afghanistan’s future generations look up to as their anchor in stormy seas.

(As of September 2025)