Rashid and Cremer in the legspin spotlight as T20I series begins

The 2026 T20 World Cup may be three months away - it is set to begin in February, in India and Sri Lanka - but it will be at the forefront of both Afghanistan and Zimbabwe's minds as they prepare to engage in a three-match T20I series that starts on Wednesday.

Rashid Khan will return to action, although he was only ever away for two weeks. The 27-year-old legspinner is on the cusp of a significant record - 500 T20 matches. Should he play every game of this series, he will join that coveted group, which currently includes seven players.

Rashid, Afghanistan's captain, will be looking for improvements considering his team exited the Asia Cup at the first group stage and then lost 3-0 to Bangladesh. His bowling form is on the up, though, which seems to be an effect of his taking some time off from the game.

Over the first five months of this year, Rashid picked up 21 wickets in 26 T20s at an average of 36.80 and an economy rate of 8.40. He took a break after IPL 2025, and since his return has gobbled up 35 wickets in 20 T20s at an average of 14.17 and an economy rate of 6.70. Rushing back into cricket from back surgery in 2023 had adversely affected his wicket-taking ability; putting his body under less pressure now has rekindled the old fire.

Graeme Cremer quit cricket in 2018 to support his wife's career as an airline pilot in the UAE and raise their kids. Now that they've grown up, he's back.

The 39-year-old former Zimbabwe captain has 35 wickets from 29 T20Is at an average of 18.85 and an economy rate of 6.94. That presents the picture of an accurate bowler, and these games might provide answers about whether he still remains so after all his time away.

A wristspinner who turns it both ways, and who has plenty of prior international experience, could be very useful in 2026 when Zimbabwe return to the T20 World Cup having missed out on qualifying for last year's event.

Less than two weeks ago, these three T20Is represented the only short-format cricket Zimbabwe had in the lead-up to the World Cup. Then Afghanistan pulled out of a tri-series that Pakistan will be hosting in November due to the death of three local cricketers in a cross-border attack. Zimbabwe were brought in to fill the vacancy. These three games at home, and the four coming up in Lahore and Rawalpindi, will prove invaluable as Zimbabwe prepare to set some records straight. They haven't been part of an ICC tournament since 2022, missing two World Cups and a Champions Trophy.

Afghanistan's rise is tied to their players being really, really good even at a really young age. Ijaz Ahmad Ahmadzai (22-year-old allrounder with hundreds in first-class and List A cricket), Abdollah Ahmadzai (22-year-old fast bowler who was with the Afghanistan squad at the Asia Cup) and Bashir Ahmad (20-year-old left-arm quick who could be a long-term replacement for Fazalhaq Farooqi) are the three to watch out for in this series.

Gulbadin Naib, Karim Janat and Farooqi all lost their place after Afghanistan's Asia Cup exit. It remains to be seen if they can fight their way back into contention.