In a first for international cricket, Afghanistan are set to host India for a T20I series in Delhi. After Greater Noida and Lucknow, Afghanistan have India's capital city Delhi their home away from home for a T20I series.
As per a report by TOI, the announcement about the T20I series will be made in due course. The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) had talked to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for a return tour as India are set to host them for a one-off Test and an ODI series. Since Afghanistan can’t host India at home and the US-Iran-Israel conflict has led to unrest in the middle east, the T20I series will take place in Delhi.
“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 the English daily.
“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.
Selection committee informed about T20I series
The T20I series will commence on September 13. The second and third T20I will be played on September 16 and 19 respectively. The T20I series may also work as preparation for the Asian Games 2026 in Japan. The Ajit Agarkar-led selector committee has been informed about the T20I series as well.
“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.
Meanwhile, Afghanistan team will play a one-off Test in Mullanpur starting on June 6. Then, the three-ODI series will be played from June 13 and 20.