Afghanistan to host Ireland in a home Test

Afghanistan has had a meteoric rise in world cricket and their impressive numbers are there for everyone to see. They played their first World Cup in 2015 and would be taking part in the next edition, which starts on May 30, as well. Prior to that, they would be playing Ireland in a three-match T20I, five-match ODI and a Test match. The fixtures start on Thursday, February 21.

All the matches would be hosted by the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Dehradun, Uttarakhand. Even as the two nations have been playing limited-overs cricket for quite a while, they haven’t had much taste of Test cricket as of now. Both teams became the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) full-member nation in 2017 and were also granted Test status.

An exciting match in store

Their Test match is scheduled to be played from Friday, March 15 to Tuesday, March 19. Previously, Ireland and Afghanistan played their maiden Tests against Pakistan and India in Dublin and Bangalore respectively. The dates of the red-ball game were also decided, bearing in mind the schedule of the cash-rich Indian Premier League (IPL), which starts on March 23.

The likes of Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Mohammad Nabi and Rashid Khan also take part in the IPL and it was also kept in mind while deciding the schedule. “Keeping in mind the dates of the Indian Premier League, in which three of Afghanistan’s main players will be participating, the dates were slightly adjusted.

And I would like to thank Cricket Ireland for honoring our request,” Afghanistan Cricket Board chief executive officer Shafiqullah Stanikzai was quoted as saying in Washington Post.

Ireland’s first Test against Pakistan was in staged in between last edition’s IPL. The team led by William Porterfield, lost by five wickets. The Afghans, captained by Asghar Afghan, lost against Ajinkya Rahane’s India by an innings and 262 runs at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium.

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