Afghanistan national men's cricket team's T20I captain Rashid Khan is missing from the 18-member squad named for the upcoming three-match T20I series against the UAE. The games will be played in Sharjah, starting with the first one on Friday, December 29, 2023.
The Afghanistan Cricket Board's selection committee has not included Rashid in the squad as he is still recovering from a recent back surgery. Top-order batter Ibrahim Zadran will be leading the side in Rashid's absence for the Afghanistan vs UAE T20I series.
Fast bowlers Fazal Haq Farooqi and Naveen Ul Haq have been included in the squad, after they reaffirmed their commitment to playing for the country.
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Afghanistan are going into the series following their best performance at the ICC Men’s ODI Cricket World Cup 2023, where they notched up four wins, including victories against Pakistan and the 2019 champions England.
Afghanistan T20I squad
Ibrahim Zadran (C), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (WK), Mohammad Ishaq (WK), Hazratullah Zazai, Sediqullah Atal, Rahmat Shah, Darwish Rasooli, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Karim Janat, Azmaullah Omarzai, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Fazal Haq Farooqi, Fareed Ahmad, Naveen Ul Haq, Noor Ahmad, Mohammad Saleem and Qais Ahmad.
Reserves: Rashid Khan, Ijaz Ahmad Ahmadzai, Ikram Alikhil and Gulbadin Naib have been included in the squad as reserves.