DD Sports to telecast Afghanistan v Ireland series

There was a time when DD Sports, a subwing of Doordarshan channel, was the official broadcaster of the matches in India. Over the last decade or so, the number of matches that they telecast have been on a decline. This had come to an extent where the Prasar Bharati had ceased showing live international cricket action on any of their channels. In a recent announcement, the Prasar Bharati has announced that the international cricket action is all set to return to DD Sports this March.

The sports channel will be telecasting the Ireland v Afghanistan series. Afghanistan have their adopted international home ground at Greater Noida Sports Complex Ground, Greater Noida. They will be hosting Ireland at the venue for limited overs fixtures that commences on March 8 and spans until March 24. The tour will comprise of 3 T20Is and 5 ODIs.

The move has been lauded by many as it is bound to have a discernible impact on the cricket played by the associate nations. Prasar Bharati made the official announcements about the same on their official Twitter handle. They wrote, “DD Sports will cover 3 T20 & 5 ODI international matches between #Afghanistan & #Ireland from 8th-24th March: @DG_Doordarshan.”

DD Sports will cover 3 T20 & 5 ODI international matches between #Afghanistan & #Ireland from 8th-24th March : @DG_Doordarshan

— Prasar Bharati (@prasarbharati) March 6, 2017

They also mentioned that they have signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Afghanistan Cricket Board for the live telecast of the series in another tweet. They rightly called it a new beginning. They tweeted, “A new beginning! Doordarshan signs MOU with the Afghanistan Cricket Board for live telecast of their matches with Ireland.”

A new beginning !
Doordarshan signs MOU with the Afghanistan Cricket Board for live telecast of their matches with Ireland.

— Prasar Bharati (@prasarbharati) March 6, 2017

The Afghanistan Cricket Board also confirmed the news in a tweet that they posted soon after. They wrote, “Afghanistan and Ireland Matches would be live from #RTA and #DDSport @ACBofficials @Irelandcricket @ICC @Atif_Mashal.”

Afghanistan and Ireland Matches would be live from #RTA and #DDSport @ACBofficials @Irelandcricket @ICC @Atif_Mashal pic.twitter.com/UbeUT3m31J

— Afghan Cricket Board (@ACBofficials) March 6, 2017

The first T20I of the series will be played on March 8 and the ODI series commences on March 15. Here are the complete fixtures of Afghanistan v Ireland in India 2017:

March 8 – 1st T20I at 1400 (IST)

March 10 – 2nd T20I at 1400 (IST)

March 12 – 3rd T20I at 1400 (IST)

March 15 – 1st ODI at 0930 (IST)

March 17 – 2nd ODI at 0930 (IST)

March 19 – 3rd ODI at 0930 (IST)

March 22 – 4th ODI at 0930 (IST)

March 24 – 5th ODI at 0930 (IST).

All matches will be played at Greater Noida Sports Complex Ground, Greater Noida.