NEW DELHI: For the first time in their cricket history, Afghanistan are going to host India in an international series this year. But the venue will be the national capital of India. TOI has learnt that plans are afoot for Afghanistan to host three T20Is against India at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Sept.An official announcement is awaited, but the matches are slated to be played on Sept 13, 16 and 19. Afghanistan are touring India for a one-off Test and three ODIs starting from June 6. TOI understands that the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) approached the Indian Cricket Board (BCCI) for a return tour. “BCCI and ACB share a good relationship. BCCI has been helping other boards like Ireland, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe by sending Indian teams to play a series there to boost the finances of those board. An understanding has been reached between BCCI and ACB in this regard. An official announcement will be made after a few modalities are completed,” a BCCI source told TOI.“The BCCI mediated an understanding between ACB the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) for availability to be the home base for Afghanistan for the series. The DDCA is also scheduling its Delhi Premier League T20 accordingly,” the source added.Afghanistan have been playing their home games in India and UAE over the last decade due to persisting geopolitical issues in Afghanistan. Previously, Afghanistan hosted Ireland in a series in Greater Noida in 2017 before hosting Bangladesh for a T20I series in Dehradun in 2018. They moved their base to UAE after that before scheduling a Test match against a full-strength New Zealand team in Greater Noida in Sept 2024. The match was abandoned without a ball being bowled due to a poor outfield after a day of rain two days before the Test. Afghanistan played their next home series in Sharjah.
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“The itinerary has been shared with India’s national selection committee since they have to pick a 15-member T20 team for the Asian Games in late Sept. The cricket event at Asian Games is due to start on Sept 23. The selectors will pick the team accordingly,” the BCCI source said.
