Afghanistan to tour India following WTC final: Report

For the first time since playing their first-ever Test in 2018, Afghanistan will tour India for a short tour after the World Test Championship (WTC) final, according to a report on Times of India. The exact itinerary will be confirmed in due course. 

India will take on Australia in the WTC final at The Oval, from June 7 to 11. India will then embark on a tour of the West Indies, where they will play a couple of Tests, three On-Day Internationals (ODI) and five T20 Internationals (T20I), July-August this year.

“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 source in the BCCI told TOI.

India has played a huge role in the emergence of Afghanistan cricket, offering stadiums in Greater Noida, Lucknow and Dehradun to them to play their 'home' matches. Afghanistan's previous visit to India was a landmark one, as they played their first-ever Test since being elevated to full-member status.

Their Test status was in jeopardy recently given that they do not have a women's team, which is one of the norms to be fulfilled according to the ICC guidelines. That has become all the more difficult to fulfill especially since the Taliban takeover as they do not promote women's sports in the country. These curbs had recently led to Australia pulling out of a white-ball against Afghanistan in the UAE.

The ICC meeting concluded, stating that starting of women's cricket in the country is not in the hands of the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) anymore. While the ACB continues to be in favour of promoting women's cricket, the Taliban government does not seem to be on the same page.

Afghanistan have played six Tests so far, winning three and losing three. They last played a Test against Zimbabwe in March 2021 in the UAE.