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Afghanistan and New Zealand are set to play a one-off Test match in September in India, according to ESPNcricinfo.
The match will be played at the Greater Noida Sports Complex Ground in Uttar Pradesh. It will mark Afghanistan's first test match at the ground, which previously served as their adopted home ground. The game will mark Afghanistan's 10th game in the longest format of cricket and their third in 2024, which is the most number of Tests they have played in a single year. According to ESPNcricinfo, the match is likely to be played from September 9 to 13. The one-off red-ball affair will be around a month before the Kiwis begin their three-match Test tour of India. New Zealand's three-match Test series will begin on October 16 at M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru. After Afghanistan plays their one-off Test against New Zealand, the only remaining countries that have yet to play a red-ball match against the Asian side will be England, Australia, Pakistan and South Africa. In March this year, Cricket Australia postponed the tour of the men's bilateral series against Afghanistan while citing deteriorating human rights conditions in the Asian country. As a part of the ICC's Future Tours Program, Afghanistan and Australia were set to play a three-match T20 series, which was slated for August this year. But CA backed out, and it was the third time Australia has refused to play Afghanistan since the Taliban took control of the Asian country in September 2021. The Baggy Greens also pulled out of three T20Is, which left a gap in Afghanistan's schedule. However, the one-off Test against New Zealand will help them partly fill the gap. In the two red-ball games that Afghanistan have played this year, they lost against Sri Lanka and Ireland. Last year, they lost their one-off Test against Bangladesh, and their last win in the format came in March 2021. They defeated Zimbabwe while playing in the UAE. Overall, Afghanistan have three wins and six losses in nine Test appearances. (ANI)
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