Afghanistan Cricket Board’s Selection Committee on Saturday (January 6) announced a 19-member squad for the upcoming three-match T20I Series against India.

Rashid Khan, Afghanistan’s regular T20I skipper, has been named in the squad but the leg-spinner is unlikely to feature in any game as he continues to recover from back surgery.

Ibrahim Zadran, who recently captained Afghanistan to a 2-1 series victory over UAE, will continue to lead Afghanistan against India as well.

Mujeeb Ur Rahman, who was not part of the recently held three-match T20I series against UAE, comes back to the squad to face India.

Ikram Alikhil, who was part of the reserves against the UAE, has been promoted to the main squad as the backup wicket-keeper batter.

“We are delighted to be embarking on our maiden tour to India for a three-match series. India is the top-ranked side in the world and it’s very pleasing to witness AfghanAtalan competing in a three-match T20I against them. We believe that AfghanAtalan are no longer underdogs & have excelled well in the recent past and we look forward to a highly competitive series against India,” ACB Chairman Mirwais Ashraf said in a statement.

The three-match T20I series between Afghanistan and India is slated to get underway on January 11 in Mohali. Indore and Bengaluru will host the second and third games and on January 14 and January 17, respectively.

Afghanistan’s squad for three T20Is against India: Ibrahim Zadran (C), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (WK), Ikram Alikhil (WK), Hazratullah Zazai, Rahmat Shah, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Karim Janat, Azmaullah Omarzai, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazal Haq Farooqi, Fareed Ahmad, Naveen Ul Haq, Noor Ahmad, Mohammad Saleem, Qais Ahmad, Gulbadin Naib and Rashid Khan.