Shahzad, Zazai return to Afghanistan side for Bangladesh T20s

Afghanistan have recalled batsmen Mohammad Shahzad and Hazratullah Zazai to their 16-man squad for the two-match Twenty20 International series against Bangladesh later this month.

Uncapped fast bowler Wafadar Momand has also been called up to the squad, which will play its matches in Bangladesh's northern city of Sylhet on July 14 and 16.

Wicketkeeper-batsman Shahzad played the last of his 70 T20Is against New Zealand in November 2021 in the United Arab Emirates, while Zazai missed out on the recent 2-1 series against Pakistan, also in the UAE.

The squad, announced late on Sunday, had no room for Afsar Zazai, Usman Ghani, Sharafuddin Ashraf, and former national skipper Gulbadin Naib, who were part of the Pakistan series in March at Sharjah.

"We have consulted T20I captain Rashid Khan and Head Coach Jonathon Trott in finalising the squad for the upcoming T20I series," chief national selector Asadullah Khan said, according to an Afghanistan Cricket Board statement.

"We have achieved decent results in T20Is in recent months, and our focus remains on further strengthening our performance in this format. The upcoming series presents a great opportunity for us to showcase our abilities and further accomplish our goals in T20 cricket."

The Afghanistan cricket team is currently in Chittagong to play a three-match one-day international series against Bangladesh.

All three ODIs will be played in the port city on July 5, 8, and 11.

Bangladesh won the only test match of the series by a record 546 runs in June.

AFGHANISTAN : Rashid Khan (capt), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Mohammad Shahzad, Hazratullah Zazai, Ibrahim Zadran, Sediqullah Atal, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Karim Janat, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Fareed Ahmad, Naveen-ul-Haq, Noor Ahmad, and Wafadar Momand.