Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis (AFP) — Afghanistan captain Asghar Stanikzai won the toss and chose to bat first against the West Indies in the first fixture of a three-match T20 International series at Warner Park in St Kitts on Friday.

West Indies go into the match without experienced all-rounder Kieron Pollard, who is sidelined with the flu. Uncapped fast bowler Ronsford Beaton is the other player omitted from the squad of 13.Afghanistan have retained the same 11 which defeated a Cricket West Indies President’s XI in a warm-up match at the same venue two days earlier.In their only previous senior international meeting, Afghanistan defeated the West Indies by six runs at the 2016 World T20 although the Caribbean side went on to lift the title for the second time in four years.Since that upset win, Afghanistan have won ten consecutive T20 Internationals against Associate Member nations while the West Indies have won just two of nine matches since defeating England in the World T20 final 14 months ago.Teams: West Indies – Carlos Brathwaite, Evin Lewis, Chadwick Walton (wicketkeeper), Lendl Simmons, Marlon Samuels, Jason Mohammed, Rovman Powell, Sunil Narine, Jerome Taylor, Samuel Badree, Kesrick Williams.Afghanistan – Asghar Stanikzai (captain), Usman Ghani, Gulbadin Naib, Samiullah Shinwari, Mohammad Nabi, Karim Janat, Shafiqullah Shafaq (wicketkeeper), Najibullah Zadran, Rashid Khan, Amir Hamza, Shapoor Zadran.Umpires: Gregory Brathwaite (BAR), Nigel Duguid (GUY)Match Referee: Jeff Crowe (NZL)