India will host Afghanistan in their debut Test from June 14-18 in Bengaluru, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced here on Tuesday
Amitabh Choudhary
New Delhi: India will host Afghanistan in their debut Test from June 14-18 in Bengaluru, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced here on Tuesday.
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The BCCI announced the decision after a meeting with officials from the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) here.
BCCI acting secretary Amitabh Choudhary said that several factors had been taken into consideration before deciding the venue for the historic match.
"There will be rains almost everywhere in India at that time of the year. The regions which will not have rain will be so hot that playing cricket will be practically impossible during the day time hours. Considering all factors, Bengaluru was the best choice," Choudhary told reporters.
"India and Afghanistan have been traditional friends for ages. It was only in the fitness of things that Afghanistan opened their international innings in India," he added.
Named the Indo-Afghanistan Friendship Series, the one-off Test will be held within three weeks of this year's Indian Premier League (IPL) final and ahead of India's tour of England.
Afghanistan earned their Test status alongside Ireland in June last year, becoming the 11th and 12h nations eligible to take part in the traditional form of the game.
Choudhary also said that the BCCI will soon take a decision on hosting the first ever day-night Test in India.
"We have been facing this question every now and then. A decision will be arrived at soon,," he said.
The first Test match to be held under lights was played between trans-Tasmanian rivals Australia and New Zealand in 2015.
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