The Afghanistan team will travel later this week and the dates of the matches will remain the same
Afghanistan’s three-match ODI series against Pakistan has been moved from Hambantota to Pakistan because of logistical challenges in the Afghanistan team’s travel, the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) CEO Hamid Shinwari confirmed to ESPNcricinfo. No commercial flights are taking off from Kabul following the Taliban takeover of the country, and Sri Lanka announced a 10-day lockdown on Friday, two days after the country reported 3793 new Covid-19 cases and a highest-ever single-day death toll of 187.
The Afghanistan squad will now travel to Pakistan later this week, with the ACB yet to announce the venue(s) for the ODIs starting September 3.
It will still remain a “home” series for Afghanistan, though was originally scheduled to be played in the UAE. ESPNcricinfo had learnt that the PCB had offered to host the series in one venue in Pakistan when the UAE plan fell through, but the ACB had declined then. This will be the first bilateral series between the two teams.
Umar Farooq is ESPNcricinfo’s Pakistan correspondent