Cricket Afghanistan : We will miss Virat Kohli’s presence in our Test debut against India

04/27/2018

Virat Kohli will not be a part of Afghanistan's Test debut against India, which is scheduled to be played at Bengaluru's Chinnaswamy Stadium from June 14. The Indian Captain has already agreed to play county cricket for Surrey during that time in order to prepare for India’s England Tour in July.

Afghanistan Cricket Board CEO, Shafiq Stanikzai exclaimed that it would be a dream come true to begin their Test journey against India but they would 'miss' playing against Virat Kohli. Kohli will not be part of Afghanistan's debut Test, which will be played at Bengaluru's Chinnaswamy Stadium from 14 June, as the star batsman will be up for county cricket with Surrey.

"We lived this dream to play this first Test against India in India. That moment has come true. Virat is a world cricket icon, something our players will miss the exposure playing against. Nevertheless, it will be a good opportunity and we will cherish every single moment of that match," Stanikzai told PTI during the ongoing five-day ICC quarterly meeting at Kolkata.

Afghanistan, who earned their Test status alongside Ireland in June last year, will not play against India in Test matches according to the new FTP from 2019-2023, even though, they will play all top nations, including Australia and England. Currently, they are playing matches at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, and also have two 'home' bases in India at Greater Noida and Dehradun. The Afghan CEO also said they have the three venues to choose from for the upcoming Tests in the 2019-2023 FTP.

"For the time being, we have three venues to choose from. We have two venues in India thanks to the BCCI. We also have Sharjah Cricket Ground, it depends on the scheduling where we play."

Explaining the reason, why they don’t have any Test matches in their new FTP against the World’s number one rank team, he said, India’s busy schedule is coming as the main hindrance for Afghanistan.

"India is a tough team to get hold of because they are very busy. Since we are not in Test Championship, the inaugural Test match is good enough for us. We are playing 14-18 Tests in new FTP cycle, which will end in March 2022," Stanikzai said.

“Against India, we will be playing only one Test and that is in Bengaluru. That was in earlier FTP. The new FTP is 2019 to March 2022," he added.

Afghanistan will play a bilateral home and away series against England, Australia, West Indies, Zimbabwe, Ireland and Bangladesh as per the next FTP which is not coming under the new Test championship.

"It does not come under the Test Championship, these will be all bilateral series — home and away," confirmed the board CEO.

He also asserted that they are considering to play day-night matches - a primary talking point about Test cricket these days. "As of now it's not yet decided. But there will be, we are deliberating," said Stanikzai.

The ICC Chief Executives' committee has almost confirmed the fixtures for the event, but they will have to be passed by the ICC Board before it's made public.

Afghanistan and Ireland became full members of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in June, as the 11th and 12h Test-playing nations.