The upcoming three-match ODI series between Afghanistan and Pakistan has been shifted from United Arab Emirates (UAE) to Sri Lanka. An official of the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) has confirmed this on Saturday. The series, to be held at the Mahinda Rajapaksa Stadium in Hambantota, Sri Lanka from September 1, was initially planned to be played in the UAE, but the hosts had to change their plans due to lack of space in the area.
ACB is understood to have approached UAE and Oman to host the series against Pakistan, but both the countries failed to accommodate them due to upcoming assignments. In fact, the rest of the IPL 2021 is to be played in the UAE in September and after the completion of the IPL, the UAE has to host the ICC T20 World Cup along with Oman.
The ACB had also considered hosting the series in Zimbabwe, but it had to shelve its plans due to the increase in cases of corona infection here. ACB media manager Hekmat Hasan said in a statement on Saturday, “Yes, we will be hosting the ODI series against Pakistan in Sri Lanka. This will be the first bilateral series featuring these two countries and these matches hold more importance as they come under the ICC ODI Super League. It is noteworthy that Pakistan are currently fifth in the ODI Super League points table with 40 points from nine matches, while Afghanistan are at the eighth position with 30 points, having won all three matches so far.
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