Afghanistan to play Tests against Australia and England

Afghanistan cricket has grown leaps and bounds ever since they forayed into international cricket. They have given the best of teams a run for their money which has earned them appreciations from across the globe. Last year they were also granted the Test status along with Ireland by the International Cricket Council (ICC), which has come as a major boost for the cricket team from the war-stricken nation.

In June, they will make their debut in Test cricket against India at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore. They will also be playing Test series against Australia and England as per the new FTP cycle from 2019-2022 and the likes of Windies, Zimbabwe, Ireland and Bangladesh according to the next FTP.

“14-18 Tests in new FTP cycle”- Shafiq Stanikzai

However, the team is not a part of the ICC Test Championship. “These series does not come under the Test Championship, these will be all bilateral series — home and away.” Shafiq Stankzai, the Chairman of the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) said. “Against India, we will be playing only one Test in Bengaluru as per earlier FTP. The new FTP is from 2019 to March 2022,” he added.

“India are a tough team to get hold of because they are very busy. Since we are not in Test Championship, the inaugural Test match is good enough for us. We are playing 14-18 Tests in new FTP cycle,” Stanikzai remarked. Meanwhile, he also hasn’t ruled out the chances of playing Day-Night Test cricket.

“As of now it’s not yet decided. But there will be, we are deliberating,” an optimistic Stanikzai added.

Afghanistan recently qualified for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 in England and Wales. They were down and out in the earlier stage of the qualifiers but came back strongly to beat the likes of the Windies and emerged as the winners of the tournament.

For all the latest cricket news and other details follow CricTracker.