Toss: Afghanistan opt to bowl vs West Indies
Afghanistan won the toss and elected to bowl in search of a 3-0 series win against West Indies in Dubai. Having already sealed the series 2-0, Afghanistan rang in three changes. They swapped out Azmatullah Omarzai, Noor Ahmad and Fazalhaq Farooqi for allrounder Shahidullah Kamal, fast bowler Ziaur Rahman Sharfi and medium-pacer Abdollah Ahmadzai.
As for West Indies, they handed opportunities to Keacy Carty and Justin Greaves in place of Alick Athanaze and Evin Lewis, while T20I newbie Quentin Sampson kept his place in the XI. With West Indies yet to name their squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka, this is a chance for the fringe batters to attract the attention of the selectors and team management. On the bowling front, Shamar Springer replaced Shamar Joseph. Left-arm spinners Gudakesh Motie and Khary Pierre will take care of the spin attack.
This is Afghanistan’s last T20I before the World Cup, while West Indies will travel to South Africa for a three-match T20I series before the global tournament gets underway on February 7.
West Indies: 1 Brandon King (capt), 2 Johnson Charles (wk), 3 Keacy Carty, 4 Justin Greaves, 5 Shimron Hetmyer, 6 Quentin Sampson, 7 Matthew Forde, 8 Gudakesh Motie, 9 Khary Pierre, 10 Shamar Springer, 11 Ramon Simmonds
Afghanistan: 1 Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), 2 Ibrahim Zadran, 3 Sediqullah Atal, 4 Darwish Rasooli, 5 Mohammad Nabi, 6 Shahidullah Kamal, 7 Gulbadin Naib, 8 Rashid Khan (capt), 9 Ziaur Rahman Sharfi, 10 Abdollah Ahmadzai, 11 Mujeeb Ur Rahman
ESPNCricinfo.com
