Afghanistan name preliminary squad for UAE tour

Afghanistan-UAE series

Afghanistan name preliminary squad for UAE tour

Online Desk

29 Jan 23 12:03:22

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A preliminary 22-player Afghanistan squad has been announced for their T20I series in the UAE next month.

According to a signed agreement between the two boards, the series against the Emiratis will be played in mid-February and will be led by veteran leg-spinner Rashid Khan.

Following Mohammad Nabi's resignation following the ICC Men's T20 World Cup in Australia in 2018, the skipper has a 4-3 record in his second stint as the head coach of his country.

Prior to the T20 World Cup in 2021, Rashid was also named captain; however, he resigned a month before the competition.

It will be the first meeting between the teams in any international format since 2018, where they met at the 50-over Cricket World Cup Qualifier. Afghanistan won the meeting by five wickets, and the men in blue have been victorious in the last four T20I meetings between the teams.

After a conditioning camp in Abu Dhabi, Rashid's squad will then be trimmed to 17 members, with the first T20I on February 16. Afghanistan are yet to name a coaching group to lead the team, after 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