India and Afghanistan are set to lock horns in a three-match T20I series from September 13, with all the matches scheduled to take place at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi. However, announcements, press releases and social media posts listing Afghanistan as the hosts have left the fans confused. In simple terms, India will be the away side despite playing all three matches on home soil.But how has this unusual arrangement come about?This series is a part of Afghanistan’s Future Tours Programme. For more than a decade, the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) has been forced to stage its home internationals outside the country. Security concerns and the absence of fully developed, top-tier cricket infrastructure mean that hosting visiting teams inside Afghanistan remains impossible. As a result, Afghanistan have regularly played their home fixtures in the United Arab Emirates and in India on several occasions since 2010.India to use visitors’ dressing roomAfghanistan have previously hosted sides such as New Zealand and the West Indies at Indian venues. The upcoming series, however, will be the first time they welcome the Indian team itself. For the first time, the Indian squad will use the visitors’ dressing room, while the Afghan players will occupy the home dressing room in Arun Jaitley Stadium (previously Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium). Match protocols, from team announcements to on-field presentations, will treat Shreyas Iyer’s side as the touring team throughout the three matches.India-Afghanistan: Last T20I Series
This is the second bilateral series between the two sides in the ongoing calendar year. India had hosted the team for a one-off test and three ODIs. The Men in Blue won the test in New Chandigarh by an innings and 300 runs in June and the ODI series 3-0.The two teams have played only one bilateral T20I series before, in January 2024. India won the three-match series 3-0, with the third T20I in Bengaluru producing a thrilling finish. Both teams scored 212 runs from their allotted 20 overs, forcing a Super Over. The first Super Over also ended in a tie, but India eventually prevailed in the second Super Over.India squad for the T20I series
Shreyas Iyer [C], Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Sanju Samson [WK], Ishan Kishan [WK], Tilak Varma [VC], Shivam Dube, Nitish Kumar Reddy*, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar*, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah*, Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana**Subject to fitnessAfghanistan Squad for the T20I series
Afghanistan cricket team: Ibrahim Zadran (c), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Noor Rahman (wk), Sediqullah Atal, Darwish Rasooli, Azmatullah Omarzai, Gulbadin Naib, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Nangyal Kharoti, Noor Ahmad, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Abdullah Ahmadzai, Naveen-ul-Haq.