NEWS

Afghanistan vs Zimbabwe 2026: T20I and Test Schedule, Squads

Published on October 15, 2026

Summary Overview: Afghanistan host Zimbabwe in Sharjah for three T20Is and two Tests from October 27 to November 17, 2026. Full schedule in local time, IST, PKT and ET, plus squads.

Rashid vs Raza: Afghanistan and Zimbabwe Meet in Five Matches Across Three Weeks

Quick Questions and Key Answers

What is the series?

Three T20 Internationals and two Tests, all at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium in the UAE, from Tuesday, October 27 to Tuesday, November 17, 2026.

What time do matches start?

T20Is start at 6:30 PM local time (8:00 PM IST, 7:30 PM PKT). Tests start at 9:30 AM local (11:00 AM IST, 10:30 AM PKT).

Who are the captains?

Ibrahim Zadran leads Afghanistan's T20I side and Rahmat Shah their Test side. Sikandar Raza captains Zimbabwe in the T20Is.

Why is it in the UAE?

Afghanistan play their home international cricket in the UAE.

The Story: The End of Afghanistan's Long Home Season

This series closes a busy autumn for Afghanistan in the UAE. They began with a one-off Test against Bangladesh, then hosted an ODI tri-series with Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. Now they take on Zimbabwe in two more formats.

For readers new to cricket, here is how the two formats differ:

T20 International (T20I): each team bats for up to 20 overs (an over is six legal deliveries), and a match lasts about three hours.
Test match: the longest format, played over up to five days, with each team batting twice.

Afghanistan Cricket Board CEO Naseeb Khan underlined the value of the red-ball games: "Test cricket is of immense importance to us."

For Zimbabwe, this is the final leg of a month-long tour of the UAE that began on October 17.

Full Schedule (Local, IST, Pakistan and ET)

Match	Date	Venue	Local (GST)	IST	Pakistan	ET
1st T20I	Tue, Oct 27	Sharjah Cricket Stadium	6:30 PM	8:00 PM	7:30 PM	10:30 AM
2nd T20I	Thu, Oct 29	Sharjah Cricket Stadium	6:30 PM	8:00 PM	7:30 PM	10:30 AM
3rd T20I	Sun, Nov 1	Sharjah Cricket Stadium	6:30 PM	8:00 PM	7:30 PM	9:30 AM
1st Test	Thu, Nov 5 to Mon, Nov 9	Sharjah Cricket Stadium	9:30 AM	11:00 AM	10:30 AM	12:30 AM
2nd Test	Fri, Nov 13 to Tue, Nov 17	Sharjah Cricket Stadium	9:30 AM	11:00 AM	10:30 AM	12:30 AM

Local time is Gulf Standard Time (GST, UTC+4). IST is India Standard Time (UTC+5:30). Pakistan is on PKT (UTC+5). ET is US Eastern Time, which moves from EDT to EST on November 1, so the 3rd T20I starts an hour earlier in the US. Test days start at 12:30 AM ET, just after midnight on the same date. In Afghanistan, T20Is start at 7:00 PM and Tests at 10:00 AM. In Zimbabwe, T20Is start at 4:30 PM and Tests at 7:30 AM.

📄 Download the series schedule as a PDF to save or share.

Squads

Afghanistan: T20I Squad

Role	Players
Captain	Ibrahim Zadran
Squad	Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Noor Rahman (wk), Sediqullah Atal, Mohammad Akram, Shahidullah Kamal, Ijaz Ahmadzai, Azmatullah Omarzai, Abdullah Tarakhil, Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmad, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Abdullah Ahmadzai, Farid Ahmad Malik
Reserves	Faridoon Dawoodzai, Qais Ahmad, Nangyalai Khan

Afghanistan: Test Squad

Role	Players
Captain	Rahmat Shah
Vice-captain	Ikram Alikhil (wk)
Squad	Afsar Zazai (wk), Sediqullah Atal, Abdul Malik, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Rahmanullah Zadran, Shahidullah Kamal, Ismat Alam, Qais Ahmad, Zia Ur Rahman Akbar, Khalil Gurbaz, Mohammad Saleem Safi, Zia Ur Rahman Sharifi, Yamin Ahmadzai
Reserves	Baheer Shah Mahboob, Naseer Khan Maroofkhil, Bilal Sami, Bashir Ahmad

Afghanistan talking points:

Ibrahim Zadran captains the T20I side, while Rashid Khan plays as a frontline spinner alongside Noor Ahmad and Mujeeb Ur Rahman.
Fast bowler Yamin Ahmadzai is in the Test squad after a strong domestic first-class season.
The same Test squad was named for the one-off Bangladesh Test and both Zimbabwe Tests.

Zimbabwe: T20I Squad

Role	Players
Captain	Sikandar Raza
Squad	Ben Curran, Blessing Muzarabani, Brad Evans, Brian Bennett, Innocent Kaia, Kundai Matigimu, Newman Nyamhuri, Ryan Burl, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Tafadzwa Tsiga, Vincent Masekesa, Wellington Masakadza, Wessly Madhevere

Zimbabwe talking points:

Sikandar Raza leads Zimbabwe in both white-ball formats while Richard Ngarava recovers from a back injury.
Innocent Kaia is included as he works back to full fitness after a thigh strain.
Kundai Matigimu replaces Brad Evans for the 3rd T20I.
Vincent Masekesa could make his international debut in the T20Is.

Zimbabwe's Test squad had not been announced at the time of writing. This section will be updated once it is confirmed.

Players to Watch

Rashid Khan: One of the best T20 bowlers in the world, and very hard to score off in Sharjah's slow conditions.

Rahmanullah Gurbaz: An explosive wicketkeeper-opener who can take a game away in the powerplay.

Ibrahim Zadran (c): Afghanistan's T20I captain and one of their most reliable top-order batters.

Rahmat Shah (c): The Test captain and a calm presence in the middle order.

Sikandar Raza (c): Zimbabwe's captain and best all-rounder, a match-winner with bat and off-spin.

Blessing Muzarabani: The tall fast bowler gets extra bounce, a valuable weapon on flat pitches.

Stat Corner

Stat	Figure
Matches	3 T20Is, 2 Tests
Venue	Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Dates	October 27 to November 17, 2026
T20I start	6:30 PM local, 8:00 PM IST
Test start	9:30 AM local, 11:00 AM IST
Afghanistan captains	Ibrahim Zadran (T20I), Rahmat Shah (Test)
Zimbabwe captain	Sikandar Raza (T20I)