Afghanistan to play all-format series against Sri Lanka and Ireland

Kabul, Jan 9 (IANS) The Afghanistan Cricket board on Tuesday announced an away tour to Sri Lanka home series against Ireland in UAE, taking on both teams across all three formats in February-March.

The Team will first tour Sri Lanka for a one-off test, three ODIs, and three T20I matches from February 2 to 21, and then will host Ireland for as many matches from February 28 to March 18 in UAE.

Afghanistan's tour of Sri Lanka begins with a solitary Test match at the Sinhalese Sports Club Cricket Ground in Colombo from February 2 to 6, followed by three ODIs which are scheduled on the February 9,11 and 14 at the R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadium in Colombo and three T20Is on the February 17, 19, and 21 at the Dambulla International Cricket Stadium.

The Blue Tigers then travel to the United Arab Emirates where the Afghanistan Cricket Board will host the Ireland National Cricket Team for an all-format series comprised of a test, three ODIs, and three T20Is from February 28 to March 18.

The teams meet at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi for the Test match first (February 28 to March 3), before moving to Sharjah for both white ball series. The ODIs will be played on March 7, 9 and 12, with the T20Is scheduled on March 15, 17 and 18.

Naseeb Khan, CEO of the Afghanistan Cricket Board, expressed his pleasure over the action-packed season of Afghanistan for the next few months which will help in the team’s full preparations for the upcoming ICC Men’s T20I World Cup in the Caribbean & USA in June. "The Year 2024 is a very busy and full of highly voltage competitions for the Afghanistan National Team which is a very good and positive sign for Afghanistan Cricket. The upcoming tours of India, and Sri Lanka, and then the home series against Ireland will help us to prepare the team for the much-important T20 World Cup. Eagerly looking for the multiple series upfront."