Ireland To Play With Afghanistan In 2019

In the history of world cricket, Ireland will play their first ever overseas Test match against Afghanistan in March 2019 revealed on Friday morning.

However, Ireland’s men will play in 2019, is part of the nine-match series against Afghanistan. Both the teams will play five-match One Day Internationals, three-match T20Is, and a single Test. The fixtures will all be played at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium, Dehradun in India.

Moreover, it will be the first of two Test matches in the calendar year for Ireland, with a historic four-day Test scheduled at Lord’s against England from July 24th-27th. Andrew Balbirnie sees that March’s Test on the subcontinental soil is a significant step for Ireland team. His side will embark on their first tour as a Full Member nation.

Dublin born batsman Balbirnie said that: “It will no doubt be a test for the entire squad – taking on Afghanistan in subcontinent conditions will require a level of adjustment by both our batting and bowling units.

“As we saw here at home in the summer, Afghanistan are a quality side with some world-class players, and will be a great challenge in their ‘home’ conditions.

“We are fortunate that Graham Ford [head coach]has scheduled a batting camp in December which will provide a number of our batsmen with some exposure to those conditions – it will be particularly beneficial for some of the younger guys like Harry Tector and James McCollum who won’t have experienced Indian pitches.”

Schedule of Ireland tour of India (to play against Afghanistan) 2019:

February 23rd (Saturday): 1st T20I
February 24th (Sunday): 2nd T20I
February 26th Tuesday): 3rd T20I
March 2nd (Saturday): 1st ODI
March 4th (Monday): 2nd ODI
March 7th (Thursday): 3rd ODI
March 9th (Saturday): 4th ODI
March 12th (Tuesday): 5th ODI
March 17th-21st (Sunday-Thursday): Test Match