Afghan cricket team in Pakistan in 2021–22
# Afghan cricket team in Pakistan in 2021–22

The Afghanistan cricket team were scheduled to tour Pakistan in September 2021 to play three One Day International (ODI) matches. The ODI series would have formed part of the inaugural 2020–23 ICC Cricket World Cup Super League.

Originally the matches were scheduled to take place in the United Arab Emirates. However, due to the rescheduled matches of the 2021 Indian Premier League (IPL) taking place in the UAE, the series was moved to Sri Lanka in July 2021. In August 2021, the series was moved again, this time to Pakistan, as a result of the Taliban offensive in Afghanistan and an increase of COVID-19 cases in Sri Lanka. On 23 August 2021, the CEO of the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB), Hamid Shinwari, confirmed that the tour had been postponed, due to the situation in Afghanistan, the logistics in travelling, and for the welfare of the team. Both cricket boards agreed to reschedule the matches for some point during 2022.

## Background

In June 2021, the Afghanistan team took part in a 15-day training camp at the Kabul International Cricket Stadium to prepare for the series.

In August 2021, concerns were raised regarding the series going ahead after Afghanistan was brought under the control of the Taliban. At the time of the offensive, Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi were both playing in The Hundred in England. However, most of the other players were in Afghanistan, with efforts being made with regards to their whereabouts. Despite the upheaval in the country, Hamid Shinwari said that training would resume in Afghanistan and that sport would continue as before. Shinwari later stated that the ACB were committed to sending a team to Sri Lanka, and they would fly out as soon as a flight was available. A contingency plan outlined by the ACB, would involve travelling to Pakistan, then Dubai, before flying on to Colombo.

A further issue arose when Sri Lanka imposed a ten-day lockdown in the country in late August 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Salman Butt, a former Pakistan international cricketer, suggested that the series could be played in Quetta, as part of the ACB's contingency plan is to drive the Afghan national team into Pakistan before making a flight to Sri Lanka. On 21 August 2021, the Afghan team began a training session at the Kabul International Cricket Stadium. On 23 August 2021, the venue of the series was changed again, with the matches being moved to Pakistan due to logistical issues.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced that Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Rizwan and Hasan Ali would not take part in the series, with the aim to manage their workloads ahead of the 2021 ICC Men's T20 World Cup.

In March 2022, the Afghan cricket team left Kabul to travel to the UAE, with the aim for the team to gain residency in the UAE, allowing for easier travel for international matches. The three-match series against Pakistan is likely to take place in the UAE during 2022.

## Squads

| Pakistan | Afghanistan |
| - | - |
| | Hashmatullah Shahidi (c) Rahmat Shah (vc) Noor Ahmad Ikram Alikhil Sediqullah Atal Fazalhaq Farooqi Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk) Karim Janat Rashid Khan Mohammad Nabi Naveen-ul-Haq Azmatullah Omarzai Abdul Rahman Shahidullah Mujeeb Ur Rahman Ibrahim Zadran Najibullah Zadran |

Afghanistan also named Yousuf Zazai, Mohammad Saleem, Sharafuddin Ashraf and Qais Ahmad as reserve players for the series.

## ODI series

### 1st ODI

* 1 September 2021

| Pakistan | v | Afghanistan |
| - | - | - |

### 2nd ODI

* 3 September 2021

| Pakistan | v | Afghanistan |
| - | - | - |

### 3rd ODI

* 5 September 2021

| Pakistan | v | Afghanistan |
| - | - | - |
