Australia to host Afghanistan in a one-off Test match at Perth in December: Reports

It has been reported that both Australia and Afghanistan are set to lock horns in a one-off Test match in December this year i.e. at a time when the Aussies will be hosting India in a four-match Test series that gets underway at the 'Gabba' in Brisbane on December 3. Meanwhile, it has also been learned that the one-off Test match will be played at Perth from December 7 to 11 and that Cricket Australia (CA) might agree to the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB)'s request to make it a day game instead of contesting it under lights.

As per the original  Future Tour Program (FTP), Australia were to host Afghanistan in a one-off Test match from November 21 to 25 but things went for a toss due to the ongoing global pandemic. At the same time, the ICC T20 World Cup that was supposed to be held in Australia in October-November this year has been postponed to 2021 due to coronavirus fear. The seventh edition of the T20 cricket's showpiece event will be held in India next year. 

'We are going to play the one-off Test series...': Nazim Zar

''We are going to play the one-off Test series against Australia in December. We have requested them to play a normal Test match instead of the day-night Test match, as we have not played a D/N Test earlier. Our camp will be based in UAE ahead of the Australia tour, where we are expected to play a practice game before the lone Test,'' said Nazim Zar, who is the Afghanistan Cricket Board's interim chief executive as quoted by Cricbuzz.

 

At the same time, Zar has also mentioned that the Afghan players will also be completing the 14-day quarantine period.
While it has reportedly been confirmed that Afghanistan will be visiting Australia at the end of this year, it remains to be seen what decision will be made regarding Australia's home Test series against India especially the first two Test matches. Brisbane will be hosting the first Test from December 3-7 while the second Test will be played at the Adelaide Oval from December 11-15. The Adelaide Test match will be played under lights and it will be the first time that both teams will be locking horns against each other in a pink-ball Test. 

(Image Courtesy: AP)