Toss Zimbabwe won the toss and chose to bowl vs Afghanistan

Zimbabwe captain Sean Williams called correctly at the toss and decided to put Afghanistan in to bat in the first T20I in Abu Dhabi. Tarisai Musakanda and Tinashe Kamunhukamwe are set to open in the absence of their regular opening pair of Brendan Taylor and Chamu Chibhabha, while allrounder Brandon Mavuta also finds a spot in the T20I playing XI for the first time since October 2018.

The visa issue, due to which five of the Afghanistan squad members, including Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Gulbadin Naib, landed late in the UAE, forced them to field an XI with a number of changes. Hashmatullah Shahidi, who made a record double-century in the second Test against the same opponents last week, will play his first T20I game since his one-off appearance in 2013, while left-arm spinner Karim Janat, who last played a T20I in 2017, also makes his return.

The two-match Test series prior to the T20Is ended 1-1.

Afghanistan: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Karim Janat, Usman Ghani, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Asghar Afghan (capt), Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Amir Hamza, Naveen-ul-Haq, Fareed Malik

Zimbabwe: Tarisai Musakanda, Tinashe Kamunhukamwe, Sean Williams (capt), Wesley Madhevere, Sikandar Raza, Richmond Mutumbami (wk), Ryan Burl, Donald Tiripano, Brandon Mavuta, Blessing Muzarabani, Richard Ngarava