Afghanistan are set to host India in a three-match T20I series at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi this September. The matches are expected to be played on September 13, 15 and 17, although the fixtures have yet to be officially confirmed.
The series will mark the first time a team has hosted India on Indian soil. Afghanistan have used India as their home venue for international matches for several years, staging games in Lucknow, Dehradun and Greater Noida, but they have never hosted India before.
For India, the T20I series fits into a busy international schedule. It comes after the team’s Test tour of Sri Lanka, with the second Test scheduled to conclude on August 27, giving India more than two weeks before the opening T20I against Afghanistan.
The series also serves as preparation ahead of the Asian Games, which begin in Japan on September 24, just one week after the final T20I.
The two sides last met in June, when Afghanistan toured India for a one-off Test and a three-match ODI series. India dominated the contest, winning the Test by an innings and 300 runs in New Chandigarh before completing a 3-0 sweep in the ODI series.
India head into the series looking to improve their recent white-ball form despite being the reigning ICC Men’s T20 World Cup champions. Since lifting the World Cup, they have lost a T20I series to Ireland in Belfast, suffered a 4-0 series defeat to England in T20Is after one match was washed out, and also lost the ODI series against England 2-1. They are currently touring Zimbabwe for a three-match T20I series.
Afghanistan, meanwhile, have not played a T20I since the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup earlier this year in India. They won two of their four group-stage matches but narrowly missed out on qualification for the Super Eight stage.
