Kabul, Feb 15 : The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) on Wednesday announced the 18-player squad for the three-match T20I series against the United Arab Emirates, set to be played on February 16, 18, and 19 at the Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi. Star leg-spinner Rashid Khan will lead a new-look Afghanistan squad with as many as seven changes from that of the T20 World Cup last year. Mohammad Nabi, who stepped down from captaincy after the tournament, has been left out. Apart from Nabi, the omissions include T20 globetrotter Qais Ahmad, Darwish Rasooli, Mohammad Saleem, and Usman Ghani. Meanwhile, Zahir Khan along with Rahmat Shah -- who has been a regular in the ODI side -- have been included in the side with the possibility of debuting in T20Is. "We don't take any team lightly and have always tended to completely prepare the squad for any event. The team has been in the UAE for around 10 days as it was getting ready for the series," said Chairman Mirwais Ashraf in an ACB statement. "Playing UAE in their own conditions is not an easy task because they are a good team with some excellent cricketers, but we are hoping that AfghanAtalan will do well and rise to the occasion," he added. The T20I series is being played in accordance with the mutual cooperation agreement that was recently signed between Afghanistan and the Emirates Cricket Boards. Based on the agreement, Afghanistan will play a series of three T20I matches with the UAE on an annual basis. This will be Afghanistan's first international assignment in 2023 and is considered a crucial preparation for a busy upcoming season, which includes several bilateral commitments and major events such as the ACC Asia Cup in September and the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 in October. Afghanistan Squad: Rashid Khan (C), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (WK), Afsar Zazai, Azmatullah Omarzai, Farid Ahmad Malik, Fazal Haq Farooqi, Gulbadin Naib, Hazratullah Zazai, Ibrahim Zadran, Karim Janat, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Najibullah Zadran, Naveen Ul Haq, Nijat Masoud, Noor Ahmad, Rahmat Shah, Sharafuddin Ashraf and Zahir Khan. /IANS