Led by re-appointed leg-spinner Rashid Khan, the series against the Emiratis takes place in mid-February, as part of a signed agreement between the two respective boards.

The skipper has a 4-3 record leading his national team back in his first stint in 2019, and has taken the reins again following the resignation of Mohammad Nabi after last year's ICC Men's T20 World Cup in Australia.

Rashid was also named captain in 2021 ahead of the T20 World Cup, though resigned a month out from the tournament.

It will be the first meeting between the teams in any international format since 2018, where they met at the 50-over Cricket World Cup Qualifier. Afghanistan won the meeting by five wickets, and the men in blue have been victorious in the last four T20I meetings between the teams.

After a conditioning camp in Abu Dhabi, Rashid's squad will then be trimmed to 17 members, with the first T20I on February 16. Afghanistan are yet to name a coaching group to lead the team, after Jonathan Trott and Umar Gul's contracts were not renewed.

After the series, Afghanistan turn their attention to a T20I series against Pakistan in March, with a location for the three matches yet to be finalised.

Afghanistan's preliminary squad: Rashid Khan (c), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Abdul Rahman Rahmani, Afsar Zazai, Azmatullah Omarzai, Bilal Sami, Farid Ahmad Malik, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Gulbadin Naib, Hazratullah Zazai, Ibrahim Zadran, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Najibullah Zadran, Nangyal Kharoti, Naveen-Ul-Haq, Nijat Masoud, Noor Ahmad, Rahmat Shah, Sediqullah Atal, Shahidullah Kamal, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Zahir Khan.

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