Apart from Nabi, the omissions include T20 globetrotter Qais Ahmad, Darwish Rasooli, Mohammad Saleem, and Usman Ghani. Rashid, Qais, and Farooqi among others will return to international set-up after featuring in franchise leagues across the world.
Mirwais Ashraf, the ACB chairman, said: “We don’t take any team lightly and have always tended to completely prepare the squad for any event,” he said. “The team has been in the UAE for around 10 days as it was getting ready for the series.”
Afghanistan squad: Rashid Khan (Capt), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Afsar Zazai, Azmatullah Omarzai, Fareed Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Gulbadin Naib, Hazratullah Zazai, Ibrahim Zadran, Karim Jannat, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Najibullah Zadran, Naveen-ul-Haq, Nijat Masood, Noor Ahmad, Rahmat Shah, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Zahir Khan