Afghanistan-Ireland series schedule revised to avoid clash with IPL

Afghanistan and Ireland are all set to go head to head in a full-fledged series. It is scheduled to commence from the 21st of February in Dehradun. Since the Indian Premier League (IPL) is slated to begin from March 23, the dates have been revised a bit. Both the teams will be playing three T20Is, five One-Day Internationals and a one-off Test match.

Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Mohammed Nabi will be taking part in the upcoming IPL season. On the other hand, the bilateral series will begin with the three-match T20I series on February 21. The two teams will then play five ODIs, beginning from February 28 before squaring-off in the one-off Test match from March 15.

The series will be important preparation ahead of 2019 World Cup

Earlier, the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) had made a request to adjust the dates citing the IPL season. Cricket Ireland obliged as the tour will now end on March 19. CEO Shafiqullah Stanikzai was quite grateful for the same as he remarked that the series will be quite crucial for Afghanistan. Keeping in mind the 2019 World Cup, he expected some competitive cricket in the series.

“Initially, we planned to conclude the series on March 23. Keeping in mind the dates of the Indian Premier League in which three main players will be participating, the dates were slightly adjusted. I would like to thank Cricket Ireland for honoring our request. The series will be important for Afghanistan as we are in the preparation stage of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019. We are certain that both sides will play competitive cricket,” he was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz.

We hope the slight amendment doesn’t impact the travel bookings of fans

While Ireland made their entry to Test cricket with a game against Pakistan last year, Afghanistan had a forgettable debut versus India. This will also be the first overseas Test match for Ireland as they played at Malahide last year. CEO Warren Deutrom also emphasized the importance of the series and didn’t want the fans to miss out.

“The importance of this series to both nations cannot be understated. So it was important that we could ensure the fans did not miss out on a clash that will see best vs best in terms of players available. We hope this slight amendment to playing days does not impact too much on the travel bookings of any fans attending the series. We look forward to a great series – which will include Ireland’s first overseas Test match,” he added.

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