Afghanistan National Cricket Team will face Zimbabwe in the first of two cricket T20 matches in Sharjah on Monday.

The match will start at about 7:30pm Kabul time and the two nations will also play a five-match one-day international series, as they fine tune for the World Cup qualifiers, that will be hosted by Zimbabwe early next month.

The two teams are focused on building a strong squad for the qualifiers, but their minds will have to switch on to T20 action.

Zimbabwe took to the United Arab Emirates the same squad that played in the tri-series against Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

Afghanistan are confident however that they can upstage Zimbabwe in the spin-friendly conditions.

“We are well prepared for this series. We have quality spinners in our side which will be helpful considering that the wicket at Sharjah is well suited for the spinners,” Afghanistan’s captain Asghar Stanikzai said at a press conference.

The inclusion of Mohammad Shahzad has further strengthened the batting line-up,  he said.

After the T20 series, Afghanistan and Zimbabwe will test each other out ahead of the World Cup qualifiers, where they are in the same group, which will be played in Bulawayo.