Afghanistan has named a preliminary 22-player squad for their T20I series in UAE in mid-February, as part of a signed agreement between the two respective boards. This will be the first meeting between the teams in any international format since 2018.
Rashid Khan will lead the Afghanistan team against the Emiratis, as the leg spinner was re-appointment as Afghanistan captain in the T20Is, replacing Mohammed Nabi after the allrounder stepped down from the captaincy following the last year T20 World Cup. The 24 year old Rashid has led Afghanistan in T20Is before in 2019, with a record of four wins in seven matches.
The Afghanistan squad will be trimmed to 17 members after a conditioning camp in Abu Dhabi. Furthermore, Afghanistan are yet to name a coaching group to lead the team, since Jonathan Trott and Umar Gul’s contracts were not renewed.
After the series, Afghanistan turn their attention to a T20I series against Pakistan in March, with a location for the three matches yet to be finalised.
Afghanistan’s preliminary squad: Rashid Khan (c), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Abdul Rahman Rahmani, Afsar Zazai, Azmatullah Omarzai, Bilal Sami, Farid Ahmad Malik, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Gulbadin Naib, Hazratullah Zazai, Ibrahim Zadran, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Najibullah Zadran, Nangyal Kharoti, Naveen-Ul-Haq, Nijat Masoud, Noor Ahmad, Rahmat Shah, Sediqullah Atal, Shahidullah Kamal, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Zahir Khan.