TEST DEBUT

India-Afghanistan Test to be played in Bengaluru

by Cricbuzz Staff • Last updated on

Afghanistan were awarded Test status in June last year © Getty

Afghanistan's historic Test debut will happen at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, to be played between June 14 and 18 this year. Officials from both boards and made the decision on Tuesday (January 16).

In the June 2017 AGM, the ICC had approved Test status for Afghanistan and Ireland - making them them the 11th and 12th Full Members of the board. While Afghanistan will play India, Ireland will host Pakistan for their first-ever Test in May.

Afghanistan have achieved admirable growth since gaining full ODI status in 2011. They didn't make it to the World Cup in the same year, but did so in 2015, where they recorded a thrilling one-wicket win over Scotland. They were one of the most formidable Associate Nations until they got bumped up to full membership recently.

The good show continued into 2016, when they made England toil in the World T20 in India, before tasting success against the eventual champions West Indies. Afghanistan have also showed that they too are capable of being consistent winners as they pulled off a record T20I winning streak - with 10 successive victories that stretched across a year from March 2016 to March 2017.

"India has good diplomatic relations with Afghanistan for a long time. We thought it was fitting that we host their landmark Test. We selected Bengaluru because other parts of India are either too hot or will witness monsoons during that period. We expect a lot of VIPs to attend the match. It's an extension of what the board did when South Africa re-entered the international scene in 1991," BCCI's acting secretary Amitabh Choudhary said.

Afghanistan Cricket Board's CEO Ashfaq Stanikzai said: "We must thank BCCI for giving us this opportunity to play our inaugural Test. We respect their busy schedule and I am sure the fans of Afghanistan team will travel to Bengaluru to watch the game."

"We have started our first-class tournament in late 2017. We have been consistent performers in ICC intercontinental tournaments. It's a pity that we can't have our international matches at home but we want to ensure that all our senior players play in the first-class tournament," Stanikzai said.

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