Zimbabwe make three changes: Madhevere, Tiripano and Mavuta out; Masakadza, Shumba and Akram in
Toss Afghanistan opt to bat vs Zimbabwe
Afghanistan have won the toss and elected for first strike – batting first for the third game in a row, though they had been inserted in the first game – in the final T20I contest against Zimbabwe in Abu Dhabi on Saturday. Afghanistan are eyeing a 3-0 series sweep, while Zimbabwe, who won the first Test before losing the second, would be hoping to finish their tour on a high note.
Afghanistan handed an international debut to Fazalhaq Farooqi, their 20-year-old left-arm medium pacer with the experience of just one T20 game. They also brought in Sharafuddin Ashraf, the left-arm spinner, and left out Amir Hamza, another left-arm spinner and Fareed Ahmed, the left-arm pacer.
Zimbabwe, meanwhile, made three changes. They left out Wesley Madhevere, Donald Tiripano and Brandon Mavuta, and brought in experienced left-arm spinner Wellington Masakadza as well as top-order batsman Milton Shumba and medium pacer Faraz Akram, both playing their second T20Is.
There was still no sign of Gulbadin Naib and Mujeeb Ur Rahman, or Hamid Hassan, Waqar Salamkheil and Azmatullah Omarzai, the Afghanistan players whose arrival to the UAE have been delayed because of a visa-related issue.
Afghanistan: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Karim Janat, Asghar Afghan (capt), Mohammad Nabi, Najibullah Zadran, Usman Ghani, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Rashid Khan, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Naveen-ul-Haq, Sharafuddin Ashraf
Zimbabwe: Tinashe Kamunhukamwe, Tarisai Musakanda, Sean Williams (capt), Milton Shumba, Sikandar Raza, Ryan Burl, Richmond Mutumbami (wk), Faraz Akram, Wellington Masakadza, Blessing Muzarabani, Richard Ngarava