Hashmatuallah Shahidi was named captain of the Afghanistan cricket team in May this year. In less than seven months, the left-hander has already cemented his legacy as a skipper after leading his team to three victories against top oppositions in the ongoing ICC ODI World Cup.

Shahidi is also enjoying his time with the bat as he is currently his team's highest run-getter with 226 runs.

Leading up to the tournament, the 28-year-old was one of the lesser known players of his teams, which is packed with Twenty20 specialists who ply their trade in different franchise leagues around the world.

Shahidi's performances so far in this World Cup have forced everyone to take notice of the southpaw. 

But according to Shahidi, his newfound recognition pales in comparison to the immense popularity of Rashid Khan, arguably the biggest name in the Afghanistan team.

"Everyone wants to take a selfie with Rashid Khan. He is a superstar," Shahidi told Indian Express in an interview, saying that most fans approach him to get in touch with the leg-spin bowling all-rounder for a selfie.

Shahidi said that taking over the captaincy duties was a challenge and he is glad that so far everything has gone according to plan.

"When I took the captaincy, it was not easy. When the board approached me I took it as a challenge. I wanted to do something for my country. Alhamdulillah, everything is going fine. 

"My only motive was not to be selfish. I only thought about my country. I knew that there would be challenges, it was in my mind. But everything has panned out as per the plan," said Shahidi.