Afghanistan Team (Photo Source: Twitter/AFG)
Afghanistan will most likely travel to India after the World Test Championship (WTC) final. The WTC final will be played between India and Australia from June 7 at The Oval in London. Notably, this would be India’s second straight WTC final, after losing to New Zealand in the first edition.
Following the WTC final, Afghanistan is expected to go on a short trip to India in June. The details about Afghanistan’s tour of India are still blur, but either the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) or Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) should make an official announcement soon. Notably, instead of the three previously scheduled matches, India will visit the West Indies in July for two Tests, three ODIs, and five T20Is.
“Yes, the Afghanistan cricket team will undertake a short tour to India in June, after the World Test Championship final (at The Oval in London from June 7-11),” a BCCI source in know of the development told The Times of India.
Afghanistan had last visited India in June 2018, for a one-off Test where they were defeated by an innings and 262 runs by the hosts in two days. The BCCI has previously provided stadiums in Greater Noida, Dehradun, and Lucknow as home bases for the Afghanistan national cricket team. However, if the tour between the two nations takes place, it will be a significant development since it will demonstrate BCCI’s support for cricket in Afghanistan even after the Taliban takeover in August 2021.
Afghanistan’s status as a full member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) remains intact after an ICC Board meeting as the members agreed that it is the Taliban, not the ACB, that is to blame. Notably, full membership in the ICC needs a functioning women’s squad and the women’s game has not been receiving attention under the new Taliban rule. The working group also confirmed that the issue of women’s cricket in Afghanistan is out of ACB’s hands.