Afghanistan will play their home games in the United Arab of Emirates over the next five years. According to the signed agreement between Afghanistan Cricket Board and Emirates Cricket Board, Afghanistan will also play UAE in a three-match T20I series in each of the five years.
The Afghanistan Cricket Board has confirmed that the ECB will 'provide valuable logistical support to the ACB including visa assistance and office space. Mubashir Usmani, the ECB secretary, said that both parties - the Emirates Cricket Board and Afghanistan Cricket Board - enjoy long and cordial relations and are pleased to extend their support to the ACB in ensuring that they have a home for their cricket.
"We also thank the Afghanistan Cricket Board for agreeing to play a series of T20I matches against the UAE Team each year. This will provide our UAE team with invaluable exposure and help in their development," said Mr. Usmani in a released statement by ACB. Meanwhile, ACB chief executive Naseem Khan is hopeful of a 'fruitful agreement' between both countries and stated that the new agreement would prosper the game of cricket.
Afghanistan Cricket Board had earlier signed a similar agreement with the Board of Control for Cricket in India in 2015 to host its home games in Greater Noida, on the outskirts of Delhi. Given the political situation in Afghanistan, international teams have completely stopped travelling to the war-torn nation, and even Afghanistan players refrain from spending much time in their own country.
The situation escalated with the Taliban takeover in August 2021. Several ACB staff were among those who fled the country in the immediate aftermath. After that, getting visas for players based in Afghanistan to play abroad became a bigger challenge. The board subsequently arranged UAE residency visas for about two dozen players.
According to ICC's Future Tours Program (FTP), Afghanistan is set to host Australia, Pakistan and West Indies in three ODIs each, as well as Zimbabwe across formats, in the next year leading into the 2023 ODI World Cup. Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah are expected to be used as venues in UAE.