Afghanistan will face the West Indies in the first of the three-match T20I series of the West Indies Tour of Afghanistan. This article provides detailed information on the AFG vs WI preview, live streaming, Pitch and weather report, head-to-head stats, and records for this particular match.
Afghanistan would look to start the series against the West Indies witha win by taking full advantage of the conditions that the team would be aware of.
As far as the West Indies is concerned, the former T20 World Cup champions have named a different squad with certain regular names missing due to prior commitments, but they would like to put their best foot forward and get a win over Afghanistan.
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AFG vs WI Match Preview- 1st T20I, Afghanistan v West Indies 2026
Date and Venue:
The AFG vs WI match will be played on January 19 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. The game will start at 8:00 PM IST.
Squads:
Afghanistan
Rashid Khan (c), Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Mohammad Ishaq, Sediqullah Atal, Darwish Rasooli, Shahidullah Kamal, Azmatullah Omarzai, Gulbadin Naib, Mohammad Nabi, Noor Ahmad, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Naveen Ul Haq, Fazal Haq Farooqi, Abdullah Ahmadzai
West Indies
Brandon King (c), Alick Athanaze, Keacy Carty, Johnson Charles, Matthew Forde, Justin Greaves, Shimron Hetmyer, Amir Jangoo, Shamar Joseph, Evin Lewis, Gudakesh Motie, Khary Pierre, Quentin Sampson, Jayden Seales, Ramon Simmonds, Shamar Springer.
AFG vs WI Probable XIs:
Afghanistan Playing 11:
Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Sediqullah Atal, Darwish Rasooli, Azmatullah Omarzai, Gulbadin Naib, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan (c), Noor Ahmad, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazalhaq Farooqi
West Indies Playing 11:
Brandon King (c), Johnson Charles (wk), Keacy Carty, Alick Athanaze, Shimron Hetmyer, Justin Greaves, Gudakesh Motie, Matthew Forde, Khary Pierre, Shamar Joseph, Jayden Seales
AFG vs WI Key battles:
Rahmanullah Gurbaz vs Jayden Seales
Afghanistan’s opening batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz will look to get his team off to a good start while batting in an aggressive manner in the first six overs.
Gurbaz will face the challenge of Jayden Seales, who will be entrusted to pick early wickets for the West Indies.
Sediqullah Atal vs Shamar Joseph
Young Afghan batter Sediqulah Atal would aim to put on a strong performance with the bat in the upcoming game and gain confidence for the matches to come.
Atal will be up against Shamar Joseph, who will hope to cement his place in the Windies’ T20I setup with a good outing with the ball in the first T20I.
Brandon King vs Azmatullah Omarzai
West Indies captain for this particular series, Brandon King, would want to lead from the front as he is expected to open the innings for the Men in Maroon.
King will have to face the challenge of Azmatullah Omarzai, who has grown leaps and bounds as an all-rounder in the last couple of years and might bowl in the powerplay, meaning that he will have a good chance of dismissing King.
Keacy Carty vs Rashid Khan
Keacy Carty, who has had a decent start to his carrer especially in ODI cricket, would look to make the most of the opportunity that he has got in the three-match T20I series against the West Indies.
Carty will have to tackle the bowling of Rashid Khan, who will take control of Afghanistan’s spin bowling attack in the middle phase of the opposition batting innings.
AFG vs WI Key Players:
AFG– Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Sediqullah Atal, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan
WI– Brandon King, Keacy Carty, Shimron Hetmyer, Jayden Seales, Shamar Joseph
AFG vs WI Free Live Streaming in India, Live Telecast- Afghanistan v West Indies 2026
TV Rights In India
The rights to telecast the three-match T20I series involving Afghanistan and the West Indies in India are with Eurosport. The AFG vs WI 1st T20I will be beamed on Eurosport HD and Eurosport SD.
Live Streaming Platform in India:
The first T20I between Afghanistan and the West Indies will be live-streamed on the Fancode app and website. Cricket Enthusiasts in India will have to pay a subscription fee to watch the match online.
When will the match take place?
The game will take place on January 19. It will start at 8:00 PM IST.
Where will the match be played?
The Afghanistan vs West Indies game will be played at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai.
How to watch the Live Telecast of the AFG vs WI match on television?
The AFG vs WI game will be transmitted on Eurosport in India.
How to live stream the match between Afghanistan and the West Indies on mobile Online?
Fancode will live-stream the first AFG vs WI T20I game in India. Viewers can watch the match on their mobiles, laptops, and connected TVs.
AFG vs WI Weather Report, Pitch Report Of Dubai International Cricket Stadium- 1st T20I, Afghanistan v West Indies 2026
AFG vs WI Weather Report of Dubai:
There is no chance of rain during the AFG vs WI game in Dubai. The maximum temperature is predicted to be 25°C, while the minimum temperature would be 17°C.
AFG vs WI Pitch Report of Dubai International Cricket Stadium:
Afghanistan and the West Indies will go head-to-head against each other at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in the first T20I of a three-match series.
If we talk about the wicket that is expected to be on offer for this particular game, it should have something in it for both batters and biwlers making for a good contest between bat and ball.
The game in question isn’t predicted to be a high-scoring one according to the standards set by various T20 leagues around the world.
The team batting first should aim to score 180-190 runs, the reason being the lack of bounce in the surface, coupled with the dimensions of the ground, which will give bowlers equal opportunity to be in the game.
However, one major factor that both Afghanistan and the West Indies will have to consider upon winning the toss is dew, which is expected to have its say espcally in the second innings.
Due to the above mentioned information, the team that wins the toss might opt to bowl first, as defending a score won’t be easy in wet conditions.
The team batting first will have to anticipate if dew will have an impact later in the game and adjust their score accordingly.
If the condition gets easy for batting, then the team that will bowl in the second innings will back its batters to post anything not less than 200-210 runs.
AFG vs WI Head-to-Head Records- 1st T20I, Afghanistan v West Indies 2026
| Stats | Matches | AFG won | WI won | Draw | Tied | NR |
| Overall | 8 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| At Dubai International Cricket Stadium | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| In the last 5 matches | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
AFG vs WI Head-to-Head Records- Key Statistics
Afghanistan and the West Indies have faced each other in eight T20I matches so far, with the former T20 World Cup winners West Indies, piping ahead.
The Men in Maroon have got rid of the Afghans on five occasions, while Afghanistan has succeeded in winning three games so far against the West Indies in this format.
The last five AFG vs WI T20I matches also paint a similar picture, with the West Indies having a one-match lead over Afghanistan, courtesy of three wins as compared to their opponent, who have won a couple of games.
If we talk about the last outing between the two teams in T20I cricket, it came in the 2024 T20 World Cup, which was played inthe USA and the West Indies.
It was the home team that came out on top in that game, and that too by a big margin of 104 runs.
However, if the overall performance of both teams in that particular tournament is concerned, it was Afghanistan that had a memorable outing as they qualified for the semi-final of a major ICC event for the first time.
The Rashid Khan-led side would hope to replicate the same performance in the upcoming T20 World Cup, and this particular series against the West Indies would be a good preparation for that.
West Indies, on the other hand, would also look to come up with a strong performance despite missing some of their key players.
AFG vs WI Head-to-Head Records: The last 5 matches
Three of the last five AFG vs WI T20I matches have been won by the two-time T20 World Cup champions, West Indies, while Afghanistan have come out on the right side of the result twice.
AFG vs WI Head-to-Head Records- Result of the last 5 games:
- West Indies won by 104 runs
- Afghanistan won by 29 runs
- Afghanistan won by 41 runs
- West Indies won by 30 runs
- West Indies won by 7 wickets
Conclusion:
The upcoming series is a good opportunity to be in good rhythm for both teams before the 2026 T20 World Cup, and they will look to make the most of it.
