Mohammad Shahzad back into the Afghanistan squad after serving his ban

Mohammad Shahzad’s 12-month suspension will come to an end and he will be eligible to play for the Afghanistan national team by mid-January, 2018. The International Cricket Council (ICC) banned him for violating an anti-doping rule but he will be seen back in action as he has been drafted into the ODI and T20I squads to play Zimbabwe next month in Sharjah.

The 31-year-old pleaded guilty to the charge but convinced the governing body that he was using the substance unintentionally in order to reduce weight. Once the ICC was convinced that he had not taken the substance in order to enhance his performance, the 12-month suspension was imposed. The suspension officially ends on January 17, 2018.

Left-arm spinner Sharafuddin Ashraf has been picked in both the squads despite the fact that the 22-year-old hasn’t played for Afghanistan since the T20Is against Hong Kong in 2015. Meanwhile, all-rounder Hamid Hassan has made a comeback into the T20I squad. Hassan, who has bagged 32 wickets at 16.34 in the shortest format, last represented Afghanistan in a 50-over game versus Ireland in 2016.

Aftab Alam, the medium pacer, also has returned to the T20I setup after a gap of more than a year. Asghar Stanikzai will captain both the squads. Rashid Khan will join the side after his stint at the Big Bash League comes to an end.

The two sides will face each other for the T20I series on February 5 and 6 respectively. The first of the five ODIs will take place on February 9. The next four games are set to be held on February 11, 13, 16 and 19.

ODI squad:

Asghar Stanikzai(c), Mohammad Shahzad, Javed Ahmadi, Ihsanullah Janat, Rahmat Shah,Najibullah Zadran, Samiullah Shinwari, Nasir Jamal, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Zadran, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Dawlat Zadran and Shapoor Zadran

T20I squad:

Asghar Stanikzai(c), Mohammad Shahzad, Usman Ghani, Karim Sadiq, Najibullah Zadran, Shafiqullah Shafaq, Samiullah Shinwari, Aftab Alam, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Zadran, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Hamid Hassan and Shapoor Zadran