The

Afghanistan cricket team The Afghanistan men's national team ( ps, د افغانستان کرکټ ملي لوب‌‌‌‌‌‌ډله, fa, تیم ملی کریکت افغانستان) represents Afghanistan in international cricket. Cricket has been played in Afgha ...

toured India in June 2018 to play a one-off

Test match Test match in some sports refers to a sporting contest between national representative teams and may refer to: * Test cricket * Test match (indoor cricket) * Test match (rugby union) * Test match (rugby league) * Test match (association football) ...

against the

India cricket team The India men's national cricket team, also known as Team India or the Men in Blue, represents India in men's international cricket. It is governed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), and is a Full Member of the International ...

. It was Afghanistan's first Test since they were awarded Test status by the

International Cricket Council The International Cricket Council (ICC) is the world governing body of cricket. Headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, its members are List of International Cricket Council members, 108 national associations, with 12 List of Internation ...

(ICC) in June 2017. India won the match in two days by an innings and 262 runs. Afghanistan were dismissed twice in the same day, only the fourth time this has happened in Tests. It was India's biggest win by an innings in Tests, and they became the first Asian team to win a Test match inside two days. After the match, India's captain

Ajinkya Rahane Ajinkya Madhukar Rahane (born 6 June 1988) is an Indian international cricketer and former captain of Indian team in all formats, who has played for Indian cricket team in all formats as a batsman. He currently captains Mumbai in Ranji trophy. R ...

said that it is just the beginning for Afghanistan, and playing more Tests and first-class cricket would improve the side.

Phil Simmons Philip Verant Simmons (born 18 April 1963) is a Trinidadian cricket coach and former cricketer who was an all-rounder played as an opening batsman, a medium-fast bowler and a slip fielder. He is the current coach of the West Indies cricket ...

, Afghanistan's coach, said that the team were "by no means happy' with their performance", but believes they will get there with further hard work.

Background

In late 2017, it was announced that

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

would be Afghanistan's first Test opponents, but the tour was confirmed as being

limited overs Limited overs cricket, also known as one-day cricket or white ball cricket, is a version of the sport of cricket in which a match is generally completed in one day. There are a number of formats, including List A cricket (8-hour games), Twenty ...

matches only. In December 2017, the

Board of Control for Cricket in India The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is the national governing body for cricket in India. Its headquarters are situated at Cricket centre, Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. The BCCI is the richest governing body of cricket in the world ...

(BCCI) and the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) confirmed that the match would take place in 2018, with the exact date and venue to be announced at a later date. In January 2018, both the ACB and the BCCI confirmed the Test would be played in June at the

M. Chinnaswamy Stadium The M. Chinnaswamy Stadium (formerly known as the Karnataka State Cricket Association Stadium) is a cricket stadium located in Bangalore, Karnataka. Flanked by the picturesque Cubbon Park, Queen's Road, Cubbon and uptown MG Road, this five-dec ...

Bengaluru Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

. It was the first time a Test match was played in June in India.

Squads

India's captain

Virat Kohli Virat Kohli (; born 5 November 1988) is an Indian international cricketer and former captain of the India national cricket team. Widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen of all time, Kohli plays as a right-handed Batting (cricket), batte ...

announced that he would miss this Test match as he elected to play for

Surrey County Cricket Club Surrey County Cricket Club (Surrey CCC) is a first-class club in county cricket, one of eighteen in the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Surrey, including areas that now form South London ...

. This was in preparation for India's tour to England the following month. However, a neck injury ruled him out of playing for Surrey in England.

was named as India's captain for the Test match in Kohli's absence. Prior to the final squad selection, Afghanistan had a team of thirty players warming up for the match in

Greater Noida Greater Noida is a planned city located in Gautam Buddha Nagar district of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The city was created as an extension to Noida area under the ''UP Industrial Area Development Act, 1976''. Situated south-east of t ...

. On 29 May 2018, the ACB announced a sixteen-man squad for the Test match, with Asghar Stanikzai named as the captain. Afghan bowler

Rashid Khan Rashid Khan Arman ( ps, ; born 20 September 1998) is an Afghan international cricketer and a former captain of the national team. In franchise leagues, he plays for Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League (IPL), Adelaide Strikers in Austra ...

said that "it will be a big day for cricket in Afghanistan" and he could not wait to become a Test cricketer. He later added that the match will be "a test of patience" and that he might end up taking no wickets. Ahead of the Test,

Wriddhiman Saha Wriddhiman Prasanta Saha (born 24 October 1984) is an Indian cricketer who plays for the Indian national cricket team. He is a right-handed wicket-keeper batsman. He plays for Tripura in domestic cricket and for Gujarat Titans in the Indian Pr ...

was ruled out of India's squad due to injury, and was replaced by

Dinesh Karthik Krishnakumar Dinesh Karthik (born 1 June 1985) is an Indian professional cricketer and commentator who nationally plays for the Indian Cricket Team and currently in Indian Premier League playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore. He is also the ...

Mohammed Shami Mohammed Shami Ahmed (born 3 September 1990) is an Indian international cricketer who plays for the Indian national cricket team in all formats of the game as a right-arm fast bowler. He plays domestically for Bengal and in the Indian Premier L ...

was also ruled out of India's squad after failing a fitness test, being replaced by

Navdeep Saini Navdeep Amarjeet Saini (born 23 November 1992) is an Indian cricketer. He has played for Delhi since 2013. He made his international debut for the India cricket team in August 2019. Early life Navdeep Saini was born on 23 November 1992 in Karnal ...

. Before the Test, both captains commented on the significance of the fixture. Asghar Stanikzai, Afghanistan's captain, said that "to be playing our first Test against India is a great honour and we hope to give a good account of ourselves". India's captain,

, said "it's a privilege to be playing in Afghanistan's first Test match" adding that it will be an historic moment for the Afghan team.

Test series

Only Test

Notes

References

External links

Series home at ESPN Cricinfo
{{DEFAULTSORT:Afghan cricket team in India in 2018 2018 in Afghan cricket 2018 in Indian cricket International cricket competitions in 2018 Afghan cricket tours of India