Opening batter Ibrahim Zadran has been appointed as Afghanistan's new T20I captain, the Afghanistan Cricket Board confirmed on Thursday (March 5) while announcing their squads for the upcoming series against Sri Lanka.

As revealed by Cricbuzz recently, the ACB had been contemplating removing Rashid from leadership duties following the conclusion of the T20 World Cup in which Afghanistan failed to reach the Super Eights. Now with just over a week to go for the commencement of the Sri Lanka series, the ACB has pulled the plug on Rashid before opting to elevate Zadran - previously the T20I vice-captain - to the hot seat.

The board has also made changes to the personnel for the upcoming series. Fazalhaq Farooqi, Gulbadin Naib and Mohammad Ishaq have not been considered both for the ODI and T20I squads despite being a part of the World Cup recently. Top-order wicket-keeper batter Noor Rahman, left-arm spin bowling all-rounder Sharafuddin Ashraf and left-arm fast bowler Fareed Ahmad have been picked in the T20I squad whereas Fareed Ahmad Malik makes a comeback into the ODI set up.

Zia Ur Rahman Sharifi, who featured in three out of the four matches that Afghanistan played in the T20 World Cup, has received his maiden call-up to the ODI squad."

T20Isquad - Ibrahim Zadran (c), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Noor Rahman (wk), Sediqullah Atal, Darwish Rasooli, Shahidullah Kamal, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmad, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Zia Ur Rahman Sharifi, Fareed Ahmad Malik and Abdullah Ahmadzai.

ODIsquad- Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Rahmat Shah (vc), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ikram Alikhil (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Sediqullah Atal, Darwish Rasooli, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Nangyal Kharoti, AM Ghazanfar, Zia Ur Rahman Sharifi, Fareed Ahmad Malik and Bilal Sami.

The ACB also confirmed that they are regularly monitoring the situation in the gulf given the series is scheduled to be played in Sharjah and Dubai. "The ACB is closely monitoring the ongoing situation in the region and is engaging in discussions with all stakeholders about whether the series can proceed with the series as originally planned, both in terms of dates and venue," the board said in a statement.

"Although a final decision will be made in a couple of days, the ACB's initial approach, in coordination with the ECB and venue authorities, is to proceed with the originally scheduled dates. Should circumstances necessitate a change, the ACB will consider exploring alternative options for both the host country and the event schedule."

The three T20Is are scheduled to be played on March 13, 15 and 17 whereas the ODIs are set to be played on March 20, 22 and 25.