The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) has decided to appoint their opening batter, Ibrahim Zadran, as their new T20I captain, replacing the premier spinner, Rashid Khan, from the role, as they announced their squads for the ODI and T20I series against Sri Lanka, which is going to take place in Dubai and Sharjah. 

Afghanistan has handed the captaincy of T20I to Zadran, after they failed to qualify for the Super 8 stage of the Men's T20 World Cup 2026. The board has also made changes to their players for the upcoming series. Fazalhaq Farooqi, Gulbadin Naib, and Mohammad Ishaq haven’t been part of the series despite being part of a World Cup campaign recently.

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The wicket-keeper top order batter, Noor Rahman, left-arm spin bowling all-rounder, Sharafuddin Ashraf, and the left-arm pacer, Fareed Ahmed, have been picked in the T20I squad, while Fareed also makes it into the ODI series between the two Asian sides.

Afghanistan name Ibrahim Zadran as new T20I captain

 The board also confirmed that they had been monitoring the situation in the Gulf post the US-Iran war situation because of the series being scheduled to be played in Sharjah and Dubai.

“The ACB is closely monitoring the ongoing situation in the region and is engaging in discussions with all stakeholders about whether the series can proceed as originally planned, both in terms of dates and venue. Although a final decision will be made in a couple of days.” The ACB expressed in the statement.

“The ACB's initial approach, in coordination with the ECB and venue authorities, is to proceed with the originally scheduled dates. Should circumstances necessitate a change, the ACB will consider exploring alternative options for both the host country and the event schedule,” the Afghanistan board added.

Afghanistan’s T20I and ODI squad vs Sri Lanka

T20I squad- Ibrahim Zadran (c), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Noor Rahman (wk), Sediqullah Atal, Darwish Rasooli, Shahidullah Kamal, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmad, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Zia Ur Rahman Sharifi, Fareed Ahmad Malik, and Abdullah Ahmadzai

ODI squad- Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Rahmat Shah (vc), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ikram Alikhil (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Sediqullah Atal, Darwish Rasooli, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Nangyal Kharoti, AM Ghazanfar, Zia Ur Rahman Sharifi, Fareed Ahmad Malik, and Bilal Sami