Mohammad Nabi recalled, uncapped Sediqullah Atal named for T20Is against Pakistan

Allrounder Mohammad Nabi was recalled to Afghanistan's T20I squad for their upcoming three-match series against Pakistan in Sharjah, for which uncapped opening batter Sediqullah Atal was also named.

In other changes from the squad that had faced UAE in three T20Is last month, Afghanistan left out Rahmat Shah and Hazratullah Zazai, while pushing Nijat Masood and Zahir Khan into the reserves.

Nabi had last played for Afghanistan in the ODI series against Sri Lanka in November last year - just after he had stepped down as the T20I captain following the T20 World Cup.

"Our team has been working hard in [the] training camp, and selectors have selected the best available players for the series," Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) CEO Naseeb Khan said. "I am confident that our team will perform at their best and make our nation proud. We wish our team the best of luck for the series and hope to see them emerge victorious."

The T20I series against Pakistan was scheduled in place of the three ODIs that Afghanistan were supposed to play against Australia in the same window; Australia pulled out of that series following an announcement from the ruling Taliban that it was banning university education for girls. The decision was made after Cricket Australia consulted the Australian government.

The PCB is going ahead with the T20Is against Afghanistan, with chairman Najam Sethi saying that "cricket and politics should be kept separate". Pakistan named their squad for this series last week, resting seniors Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf and Fakhar Zaman. Allrounder Shadab Khan will be leading Pakistan instead.

The three matches take place on March 24, 26 and 27.

Afghanistan squad for Pakistan T20Is: Rashid Khan (capt), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Usman Ghani, Sediqullah Atal, Najibullah Zadran, Afsar Zazai, Karim Janat, Mohammad Nabi, Azmatullah Omarzai, Gulbadin Naib, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Noor Ahmad, Mujeeb Ur Rehman, Fareed Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi and Naveen-ul-Haq

Reserves: Nangyal Kharoti, Zahir Khan and Nijat Masood