India to host Afghanistan in their first ever Test match

Afghanistan is all set to play their first ever international match in the longest format of the game against India in 2019. The news comes as a huge one for the die-hard cricket fans in Afghanistan and also the cricketers who had expressed their desire to play against India in their first ever Test match. However, it seems that the match will be scheduled during the home season of Team India in 2019/20 when the Test Championship will also commence.

Afghanistan was one of the two nations along with Ireland who was awarded the Test status earlier this year by the International Cricket Council (ICC). The cricket crazy nation has improved leaps and bounds in the last few years with the young cricketers coming up at the highest level. Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi have been regarded as the heroes in the country as they have represented Afghanistan in the T20 leagues around the world and were the first ever to be picked in the lucrative Indian Premier League (IPL).

When is the match?

The news of India hosting Afghanistan in their first ever historic five-day Test match was confirmed by ABP News. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is likely to release the Future Tour Programme (FTP) in the coming days as. The FTP is likely to be confirmed in the BCCI SGM which will be held in the capital city of India on Monday (December 11). It will include all the details of the future tours of the Indian team which will also clear when they will host Afghanistan for a historic Test match.

More T20Is during 2019-2023

Earlier in the day, it was also reported that the Men in Blue will be playing as many as 54 T20 Internationals during the five-year cycle from 2019 to 2023. India had been part of only 18 matches in the shortest format in the earlier FTP and the increase in a number of matches is thrice now which is huge. The news is not officially confirmed by BCCI though Team India will be playing as many as 158 home and away international matches in the new proposed FTP which is a lot higher than they played in the last five years.