Zadran takes permanent charge of Afghanistan's T20 side

The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) has announced its squad for the upcoming three-match T20I series against India, with Ibrahim Zadran taking over as the team's full-time T20I captain. The assignment will mark Zadran's first series as Afghanistan's permanent T20I skipper after he took over the leadership duties from Rashid Khan.

Zadran inherits a side packed with the country's biggest white-ball stars, and the leadership change signals a new era for Afghanistan's shortest-format outfit just months after the team's early exit from the 2026 ICC Men's T20 World Cup.

Naveen-ul-Haq boost for pace attack

The headline selection news alongside the captaincy is the return of pacer Naveen-ul-Haq, who comes back into the squad after recovering from injury. The right-arm pacer had been sidelined after suffering a stress fracture in his right shoulder, which ruled him out of Afghanistan's bilateral series against the West Indies as well as the 2026 ICC Men's T20 World Cup.

His return is described as a major boost for Afghanistan's pace attack, adding experience and bite to a bowling unit that also features Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Noor Ahmad and Nangyal Kharoti.

Full squad named

The Afghanistan squad features several of the country's biggest T20 names, including Rashid Khan, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Mohammad Nabi, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazalhaq Farooqi and Azmatullah Omarzai, alongside the returning captain and pacer.

The full squad is as follows:

• Ibrahim Zadran (captain)
• Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wicketkeeper)
• Noor Rahman (wicketkeeper)
• Sediqullah Atal
• Darwish Rasooli
• Azmatullah Omarzai
• Gulbadin Naib
• Mohammad Nabi
• Rashid Khan
• Nangyal Kharoti
• Noor Ahmad
• Mujeeb Ur Rahman
• Fazalhaq Farooqi
• Abdullah Ahmadzai
• Naveen-ul-Haq

Reserves: Ijaz Ahmadzai, Shahidullah Kamal and Fareed Ahmad Malik.

Historic series on Indian soil

The three-match T20I series between India and Afghanistan is scheduled to take place from 13 September to 17 September 2026. In a historic first for international cricket, Afghanistan will serve as the official host team despite the entire series being played on Indian soil.

The Afghan team is set to arrive in India early for a preparatory camp ahead of the three-match series. The series will also be a historic one as it will be the first-ever men's bilateral T20I series between Afghanistan and India. The two sides previously faced each other in a one-off Test and a three-match ODI series in June this year.