Mujeeb Ur Rahman returns to Afghanistan squad for India T20Is

Afghanistan have included Mujeeb Ur Rahman in their squad for the three-match T20I series in India, starting from January 11. The 22-year-old recently missed a T20I series against UAE to feature in the BBL, but the Afghanistan Cricket Board ended his stint by revoking his NOC.

Last month, Mujeeb, Naveen-ul-Haq and Fazalhaq Farooqi refused to sign the central contract and that’s when the national board decided that they would be considered "non-eligible" for NOCs for the next two years. The latter two spoke with the board and made themselves available for the UAE series.

Mujeeb, who hasn’t played a T20I since July 2023, will lead the spin attack comprising of Mohammad Nabi, Qais Ahmad, Noor Ahmad and Sharafuddin Ashraf. The regular T20I skipper, Rashid Khan is also in the squad but hasn’t fully recovered from his back surgery and is unlikely to feature in the series. Ibrahim Zadran will lead the side in his absence.

ACB chairman Mirwais Ashraf said: "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."

The first game will be played in Mohali on January 11 before the action shifts to Indore (January 14) and Bengaluru (January 17). This will be India and Afghanistan’s last T20I assignment before the upcoming T20 World Cup in the West Indies and the USA later this year.

Squad - 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.