Afghanistan likely to host Australia and West Indies for T20I tri-series in October

KABUL: Afghanistan are likely to host Australia and West Indies for a T20I tri-series in the first week of October before the upcoming T20 World Cup, which is scheduled to run from October 17 to November 14 in UAE and Oman. The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) has also confirmed that the side’s first-ever Test against Australia —- a one-off match —- on November 27 at the Bellerive Oval in Hobart will go ahead as scheduled.Since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, there’s been uncertainty around the country’s involvement with cricket. But ACB CEO Hamid Shinwari was positive about the resumption of cricket in the country as well as future tours. The board even hosted a friendly T20 game which was played between two Afghan teams at the Kabul International Stadium on Friday.The tri-series, which will be confirmed once the venue availability is clear, is likely to take place in Qatar or the UAE, according to Shinwari.The one-off Test was originally slated for December 2020, but was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. This will be Afghanistan’s seventh Test since they gained the Full Member status in 2017.

“Our team will be travelling abroad to play the tri-series hopefully, and that we could accommodate two important nations Australia and the West Indies,” Shinwarisaid. “We are planning to conduct this series in one of the Arab countries, maybe in Qatar or the UAE. It still hasn’t been decided. The series is confirmed given that a venue is available.We have support for cricket from the management. After the T20 World Cup, we are going to Australia to play a one-off Test match. Talks with Cricket Australia are in the pipeline. After the World Cup, the team will be heading there.”

If it goes ahead as planned, the tri-series is likely to run alongside IPL 2021, which is scheduled from September 19 to October 15 in the UAE. As a result, a number of big names from all three sides could be missing from the tri-series.Earlier, Afghanistan’s three-match ODI series against Pakistan, which was supposed to begin on September 3, was postponed indefinitely. Talks between the two boards concluded that logistical challenges were making it tough for the Afghanistan contingent to travel to Sri Lanka, while the ongoing political situation in Afghanistan was also considered. The PCB also tweeted that both boards will try to reschedule the series for 2022.Meanwhile, Afghanistan’s Under-19 team’s scheduled tour of Bangladesh, due to start later this month in Sylhet, is also set to go ahead.