Afghanistan likely to play T20I tri-series against Australia and West Indies
If reports are to be believed, then Afghanistan is set to host a T20I tri-series involving Australia and the West Indies in the first week of October before the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup. Earlier, reports surfaced that the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) were in talks with Cricket Australia (CA) and Cricket West Indies (CWI) for a proposed T20I series.
Apart from a potential T20I tri-series, the ACB have also confirmed a one-off Test match against Australia starting from November 27 in Hobart. Currently, Afghanistan is in state of a turmoil due to the Taliban sweeping to power. Subsequently, the team’s three-match ODI series against Pakistan too got postponed and there is a brewing tension.
However, ACB CEO Hamid Shinwari is optimistic about cricketing activities resuming for Afghanistan. The board also hosted a friendly match between two Afghan teams, which gave an indication that the country is slowly giving its fans and followers a reason to celebrate, after a tense 20 to 25 days. If the tri-series is confirmed among Afghanistan, Australia, and West Indies, then the likely venues would be Qatar or the UAE.
“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. 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,” Hamid Shinwari told ESPNcricinfo.
“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,” he added.
T20I tri-series likely to collide with the UAE leg of IPL 2021
The T20I tri-series is likely to be played in October first week and will collide with the UAE leg of IPL set to begin from September 19 to October 15. What this could potentially mean is top players from three participating teams could miss the series. Glenn Maxwell, David Warner, Marcus Stoinis, Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi, Andre Russell, Keiron Pollard, Chris Gayle, and Nicholas Pooran could miss the T20I tri-series.
There is finally a reason to rejoice for Afghanistan and its people back home as the Under-19 team are scheduled to tour Bangladesh later this month as confirmed by ACB.
