The Indian cricket team will play a three-match T20I series against Afghanistan in September. BCCI and Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) announced the series in a joint statement. All three matches will be played at the Arun Jaitley Cricket Stadium in Delhi. The first T20I will be played on 13 September, the second on 15 September and the third on 17 September. This means that the entire T20I series between India and Afghanistan will be over in five days. This announcement has dealt a big blow to Bangladesh's hopes.
The bilateral series between India and Bangladesh was postponed last year. The proposed series was postponed due to political unrest in Bangladesh. Subsequently, Bangladesh had proposed to host the series against India in September. But, now that India's schedule against Afghanistan has been finalized for September, Bangladesh's hopes for that series are all but over.
BCCI President Mithun Manhas said that the board is committed to supporting the development of cricket in Afghanistan and giving its players the opportunity to play at the highest level. He said that bilateral cricket gives teams an opportunity to play against strong opponents on a regular basis and gain experience. BCCI Honorary Secretary Devjit Saikia also spoke about the India-Afghanistan cricket ties. He told that for the last few years, regular bilateral matches are being played between the two teams. Saikia reminded that India had hosted Afghanistan's historic first Test match in 2018. Since then, both the teams have been playing regularly in different formats.
Afghanistan Cricket Board Chairman Mirwais Ashraf said that this series is important for Afghanistan cricket. He said that playing the bilateral series in India is another important step in the long-standing relationship between the two boards. He also pointed out that Afghanistan has played its home matches in both India and UAE in recent years. He praised BCCI's support and said that India is the right venue for this big series.