Pakistan, Afghanistan forced to move bilateral series out of UAE due to IPL 2021

The upcoming ODI series between Pakistan and Afghanistan has been moved to Sri Lanka from the UAE due to the second leg of IPL 2021. According to ESPNcricinfo, the venues in the UAE have been made unavailable to Pakistan and Afghanistan as the BCCI is planning to host the second half of IPL 2021 during the same period. The three-match ODI series between Pakistan and Afghanistan will now be played at Sri Lanka's Mahinda Rajapaksa Stadium in Hambantota, as reported by ESPNcricinfo. 

This is not the first time an event has had to be relocated or rescheduled due to the lucrative IPL tournament. Earlier, the Windies cricket board announced that its premier T20 competition, Caribbean Premier League (CPL), would be rescheduled to make room for the second leg of the IPL.

Pakistan and Afghanistan have never played a bilateral series, and the upcoming ODI is scheduled to be counted for the ICC Super League, which serves as the qualification process for the 2023 World Cup. Both nations have only locked horns in ICC and ACC events such as the World Cup and the Asia Cup. The upcoming ODI series is expected to be held between September 1 and September 5. 

Afghanistan announces squad for Pak clash

The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) on July 23 announced a 17-member squad for the upcoming bilateral series against Pakistan. Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi, and Mujeeb Ur Rahman are among the notable additions to the series. Hashmatullah Shahidi, Afghanistan's ODI and Test captain, will lead the team against Pakistan in Sri Lanka later this year.

Afghanistan's squad: Hashmatullah Shahidi (Captain), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (Wicketkeeper), Ibrahim Zadran, Sediq Atal, Rahmat Shah (Vice-captain), Najib Zadran, Ikram Alikhil, Shahid Kamal, Mohammad Nabi, Karim Janat, Azmat Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Abdul Rahman, Naveen Ul Haq, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazal Haq Farooqi, Noor Ahmad Lakanwal. 

Reserved Players: Yousuf Zazai, Saleem Safi, Sarafuddin Ashraf, Qais Ahmad. 

Image: PTI/AP