Afghanistan confirm their first ever bilateral series against Bangladesh
Afganistan’s lofty cricket ambitions got a huge shot in the arm with the confirmation that they will be playing a three-match ODI series in Bangladesh – their first ever bilateral tie against their Asian counterparts and only their second such experience against an ICC Full Member having played three series against Zimbabwe earlier.
The three matches which have been scheduled in the window available before the commencement of the Bangladesh-England series have been scheduled for September 25, 28 and October 1 with all three matches being played at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur, which will also play host to Bangladesh’s first two ODIs against England.
The two sides have met each other at the international level on two occasions previously with Afghanistan creating a huge upset when they defeated Bangladesh at the 2014 Asia Cup while the Tigers got the better of their Asian counterparts when they faced off at the 2015 World Cup held in Australia and New Zealand.
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Following their impressive performance in the 2016 World T20, which included a victory over eventual champions West Indies, Afghanistan have expressed their hopes of playing more cricket against the top sides as they aim to become the 11th Test playing nation under the guidance of former Indian cricketer Lalchand Rajput, who was named as the team’s head coach following Inzamam-ul-Haq’s decision to step down from the role after the World T20.
While a proposed series against Pakistan was called off, a ‘home’ series against West Indies was confirmed for early 2017 but still the Afghanistan cricket team have been aggressively pushing their claim for more cricket with Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) Chief Executive, Shafiq Stanikzai, claiming that the team was playing better than some of the teams at the lower level of ICC’s elite panel.
With the series against Bangladesh getting confirmed earlier today, Afghanistan will now have the chance to put their words into action and prove that they truly belong as a leading cricket playing nation. Sharing his delight after clinching the agreement, ACB chairman Nasimullah Danish said that he is eagerly looking forward to seeing how his players fare in the testing pitches of Bangladesh.
We are looking forward [to] entertaining cricket," he said. "We are in close discussion with ICC Full Members. It's always good for our team development to test ourselves in different conditions, and there's no better place than Bangladesh to do that."