KABUL: The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) on Tuesday, announced the schedule of the three-match home T20I series against Pakistan, which will be played from March 25 to 29 in Sharjah.
In an official statement, the ACB shared the schedule of their home T20I series against Pakistan, which will roll into action on March 25 in Sharjah before the second and third matches between the two teams taking place on March 27th and 29th, respectively, at the same venue.
Mark Your Calendars📆
The fixtures for our home series against @TheRealPCB are out 👇 🤩
More 👉: https://t.co/ofl07JskjB #AfghanAtalan | #AFGvPAK pic.twitter.com/s081Mh1WUA
— Afghanistan Cricket Board (@ACBofficials) March 7, 2023
The chairman of ACB Mr. Mirwais Ashraf thanked the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for their willingness to play against Afghanistan and expressed his hope for close working ties between the two cricket boards.
“We appreciate Pakistan Cricket Board’s willingness to play Afghanistan in March. This is a significant accomplishment for two neighbouring countries.
“We are hopeful and looking forward to extending our ties with PCB, as well as continuing great partnerships and frequent cricketing assignments with them, which will help us further strengthen our team and our cricket altogether. Overall, we are excited to host and play Pakistan in what will be a thrilling series of cricket games between the two countries.”
It is worth mentioning here that the ACB executives contacted the PCB to play a three-match ODI series, following Australia’s withdrawal from the ODI series against Afghanistan, citing restrictions on women’s rights in the country.
Meanwhile, the chairman of the PCB management committee Najam Sethi in a press conference in January, shared that the cricketing governing body had no interest in the ODI series, however, the T20I series could be an option subject to approval from the Pakistan government.
“I met the chairman and executives of the Afghanistan [Board] in Dubai. The crux of the matter is that they requested us to play three matches,” shared Sethi.
“My stance was that even if we play those matches, it would not benefit either cricketing nation, so we are not really interested in going ahead and playing those matches.
“Again, keeping it short, since I had a detailed conversation with them. We came to the conclusion that subject to the government’s approval, Pakistan and Afghanistan will play three T20I matches in Sharjah, just after the conclusion of PSL 8 and before the arrival of New Zealand.”
Notably, the upcoming T20I series will mark the first bilateral series between Pakistan and Afghanistan as the two sides had only met in Asia Cup and ICC events.
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