Heathcoat has pulled off a coup with the signing of Afghanistan superstar Bahir Shah for their 2022 Devon Premier League defense.

A record-breaking run machine

Shah is, quite simply, a run-scoring machine. An incredible prospect with a domestic record that placed him amongst the true greats of the game.

At the point of writing (9/2/22), the Afghan boasts the fourth-highest first-class batting average in history (minimum of 40 innings), only behind Donald Bradman (95.14), Vijay Merchant (71.64), and George Headley (69.86).

Shah, who averages 69.02 in his 48 innings to date, has notched up 8 centuries amongst his 2,554 runs to date. Add 2 further centuries (509 runs at 36.35) in List A cricket, and you can see why Shah is destined for the big stage.

National interest

He is already on the national radar, having featured for Afghanistan at U19 (2017/18), U23, and A team (2019) level. Making the step up to the full senior side is the next target for the youngster who clearly has a big future in the game.

Shah in numbers

The right-hander originally burst onto the Afghanistan domestic scene in October 2017, striking 256* on his first-class debut for Speen Ghar Region. He would go on to top the Ahmad Shah Abdali 4-Day Tournament run charts that year, hitting 1,096 runs at 121.77 including scores of 111, 116, 104, and a record-breaking 303* – the first Afghan to score a triple century.

A few months later (Jan 2018) and he would average 36 for his country at the ICC Under-19 World Cup, before another dominant first-class tournament (2018/19) hitting 600 runs at 100 with 2 further centuries.

By his standards, his 2019/20 red ball campaign was mediocre, yet he still averaged mid-40s, but he made up for it in the Ghazi Amanullah Khan Regional One Day Tournament (List A), striking 2 hundreds to average 79.

Unfortunately for Shah, COVID struck to prevent any significant cricket in 2020/21 but he has returned to domestic cricket this summer (2021/22) and continued to shine, hitting 3 half-centuries in 6 first-class innings with an average just shy of 50.

Shah signs for Heathcoat

The Afghan record-breaker is now seeking further opportunities and has targeted a season in England to continue his development and progression towards full international honours.

Shah has signed with Devon League powerhouse Heathcoat who are eager to retain their Premier League title in 2022.