Afghanistan Cricket Team | Source: X.com
India steps in to provide Afghanistan with a stadium to host their upcoming series against Bangladesh. The Afghanistan Cricket Team will be returning to the familiar surroundings of the Shahid Vijay Singh Pathik Sports Complex in Greater Noida after four years.
The limited-overs series, as reported by Sportstar, will see both teams compete in three ODIs and three T20Is scheduled between July 25 and August 6. The Bangladesh team will arrive in Greater Noida via New Delhi on July 22 and will have a short training session before their first ODI.
Greater Noida used to be Afghanistan‘s home ground earlier. The venue last hosted an international match in March 2020, right before the nationwide lockdown due to COVID-19.
Later, after the Taliban takeover in August 2021, Afghanistan was forced to play its “home” matches primarily in the United Arab Emirates.
ACB’s Venue Deal With BCCI
However, during the ODI World Cup 2023, discussions were initiated between the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) regarding the possibility of resuming home games in India.
As per CEO of ACB, Naseeb Khan, the BCCI offered two venues to them to host the Bangladesh series – Greater Noida and Kanpur. Due to the familiarity of the conditions, the Afghanistan Cricket Board opted for Greater Noida.
