India All Set to Host Afghanistan in Their Maiden Test Before 2019

Even before the Board of Control for Cricket in India announced they would host Afghanistan for their debut Test, there have been talks whether it would be possible to accommodate the match before 2019.

Team India will be busy with their foreign schedules for the major part of 2018, and hence the speculations of whether the match can get accommodated in 2018 started doing the rounds.

If this is the case, then Afghanistan might have to wait for the next Future Tours and Programs for their maiden Test. However, as per reports from top sources, they have confirmed to Sportstar the historic Test match will be held in 2018 only and not in 2019.

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“It will be held before the next FTP, which gets effective from 2019. As of now, it is scheduled for next year,” the source was quoted as saying by Sportstar.

There hasn’t been any clarity surrounding the date and venue for the match, but it is learnt that the Afghanistan Cricket Board are looking at two possible windows to accommodate the fixture. The first is the short gap between India’s tour of South Africa and before the Indian Premier League. If it isn’t feasible, then the other option would be somewhere before or after the Asia Cup.

“A lot of things are being discussed. There are quite a few factors involved here, and both the boards are trying to ensure that things fall in place smoothly,” the source close to the development was quoted by the Sportstar.

It has also been learnt that the venue for the fixture will be finalised in a joint media conference held by both BCCI and ACB in the coming few days.

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While there have been speculations that the historic Eden Gardens could be the venue for the special occasion, sources indicated it might not be the case in the end.

“The deliberations are on. There are a few things that require further discussions,” the source said.

During an exclusive interaction with Sportstar last Monday, ACB chief Atif Mashal said they were working on fixtures and schedules which will get announced pretty soon.

“It will be held next year. We cannot disclose the details at the moment,” the ACB chief had earlier said.

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