Afghanistan - Pakistan ODI series shifted to Sri Lanka from UAE due to IPL

Pakistan and Afghanistan are set to lock horns in a three-match ODI series. The series that was set to be played in United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been shifted to the Mahinda Rajapaksa Stadium in Hambantota in Sri Lanka.

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It is learnt that Afghanistan Cricket Board had approached UAE and Oman to stage the series but both countries denied due to upcoming events. UAE will host the second leg of IPL before co-hosting the T20 World Cup with Oman. The Afghanistan-Pakistan series is scheduled to commence on September 1. The development was confirmed by the ACB.

"Yes, we will host the ODI series against Pakistan in Sri Lanka," ACB's media manager Hikmat Hassan told Cricbuzz on Saturday.

The three ODIs is the first-ever bilateral series between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Yesterday, Afghanistan announced the squad for the Pakistan series and named Hashmatullah Shahidi as the skipper of the side. 

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Meanwhile,  Pakistan team is next lined up to play West Indies in five T20Is and two Tests. The series was set to start on July 27 but may see a slight change in schedule after a covid-19 case in the West Indies camp which caused the postponement of the second ODI against Australia. The penultimate ODI will now be played on July 24 while the final will be played on July 26. 

Pakistan come into this after a mauling in England where they were thrashed 3-0 by a second-string England. In the T20Is, the team suffered a crushing 2-1 loss. Meanwhile, West Indies thrashed Australia 4-1 in their most recent T20I series.

Afghanistan squad

Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Sediq Atal, Rahmat Shah (vice-captain), Hashmatullah Shahidi (captain), Najib Zadran, Ikram Alikhil, Shahid Kamal, Mohammad Nabi, Karim Janat, Azmat Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Abdul Rahman, Naveen Ul Haq, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazal Haq Farooqi and Noor Ahmad Lakanwal.