Afghanistan vs Ireland series to begin two day before scheduled start to avoid clash with IPL 2019 dates

The Afghanistan vs Ireland three-format series which was to begin on 23 February in Dehradun will now commence on 21 February, informed the two cricket boards. The tweak in schedule has been done to avoid clash with IPL 2019 which is slated to commence on 23 March because of General Election in India. The slight change helps Afghanistan to finish the series by the time IPL begins giving three of their players ample time to join their respective IPL teams before the start of the tournament. [caption id=“attachment_5899141” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Afghanistan and Ireland will contest in 3 T20Is, 5 ODIs and 1 Test starting 21 February in Dehradun. AFP[/caption] Afghanistan Cricket Board CEO Shafiqullah Stanikzai thanked Cricket Ireland for agreeing to the change in schedule. He  said, “Initially, we planned to conclude the series on 23 March but keeping in mind the dates of the Indian Premier League in which three of Afghanistan’s main players will be participating, the dates were slightly adjusted and I would like to thank Cricket Ireland for honouring our request.” The series begins on 21 February with 3 T20Is followed by 5 ODIs and then a solitary Test match which will be played from 15 to 19 March. All the matches will be played at Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Dehradun, India. Both Afghanistan and Ireland were granted Test status in 2017. Since then they have played one Test each. Ireland played their maiden Test against Pakistan last year, which they lost by 5 wickets. Afghanistan made their Test debut also in 2018 against India in Bengaluru. They too lost the match. The Dehradun Test gives the new Test playing nations a chance to register their first victory in the format.