Team India Not Scheduled to Face Afghanistan During 2019-2023 Cycle

In Tests, India is not inline to play against Afghanistan as per the Future Tour Programme (FTP) of 2019-2023. Both the teams will soon lock horns against each other in a One-off Test fixture.

Afghanistan will make their red-ball form debut against the Indian team. The historic Test match will be played at Bengaluru from June 14.

Meanwhile, the war-torn country Afghanistan earned their Test status along with Ireland during the world cricket body ICC’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) in London, in June 2017.

India has always extended a helping hand to ACB:

Furthermore, the Afghan team will be seen contesting against top sides like England and Australia.

However, the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB( failed to secure any more matches with the Indian national team during the 2019-2023 FTP cycle.

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“India is a tough team to get hold of because they are very busy. Since we are not in Test Championship, the inaugural Test match is good enough for us. We are playing 14-18 Tests in new FTP cycle,” ACB CEO Shafiq Stanikzai said as quoted by PTI on Wednesday.

Concurrently, Stanikzai is in India and spoke to the media on the penultimate day of the five-day ICC quarterly meeting being held in Kolkata.

It is cognizance of the fact that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has always extended their helping hand towards their neighbouring board.

“Against India, we will be playing only one Test in Bengaluru as per earlier FTP. The new FTP is from 2019 to March 2022,” he added.

Quick read: India Helps Us More Than Pakistan, Says Afghan Cricket Board CEO

He further added that the Afghan team will play against teams like England, Australia, West Indies, Zimbabwe, Ireland and Bangladesh.

These matches will be played under bilateral series at home and away venues. Afghanistan team has been playing their home matches in India.

“These series does not come under the Test Championship, these will be all bilateral series — home and away,” he added.

Afghanistan team has proven themselves in the shorter formats of the game.

The Afghan players will also like to prove their mettle in the longest format of the game.

Also read: India likely to host bilateral series between Afghan-Bangladesh