Toss Pakistan chose to bat vs Afghanistan

"It's an exciting and proud moment for me to lead my country," he said. "The pitch doesn't look the regular Sharjah pitch, but the team has gelled in due to playing together in the PSL."

Afghanistan will be captained by legspinner Rashid Khan, while Rahmanullah Gurbaz will keep wicket. Former captain Mohammad Nabi returns to the T20I side for the first time since the T20 World Cup.

"We are happy with the toss, but it is all about the show," Rashid said. "We have had small losses against Pakistan, so we need to play smart, simple cricket. If we to do the basics right, give 100% and stay calm, we will do well."

Afghanistan: 1 Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), 2 Ibrahim Zadran, 3 Najibullah Zadran, 4 Mohammad Nabi, 5 Karim Janat, 6 Azmatullah Omarzai, 7 Gulbadin Naib, 8 Rashid Khan (capt), 9 Mujeeb Ur Rahman, 10 Fazalhaq Farooqi, 11 Naveen-ul-Haq

Pakistan: 1 Saim Ayub, 2 Mohammad Haris, 3 Abdullah Shafique, 4 Tayyab Tahir, 5 Shadab Khan (capt), 6 Azam Khan (wk), 7 Faheem Ashraf, 8 Imad Wasim, 9 Naseem Shah, 10 Zaman Khan, 11 Ihsanullah