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Atif Mashal

ZIMBABWE and Afghanistan have agreed to play five ODIs and two T20 internationals against each other in Sharjah in February 2018.

The tour begins with back-to-back 20-over games on February 5 and 6 before moving onto the 50-over leg, which is scheduled to take place between February 9-19.

Afghanistan were in talks to play their maiden Test against Zimbabwe around the same time as well. The original plan was that they would stop over in Sharjah, play each other, and then Zimbabwe would travel to Bangladesh for an ODI tri-series in January-February.

But with the World Cup qualifiers due to take place in March, and both teams being involved in the tournament, Zimbabwe Cricket suggested to the Afghanistan Cricket Board that it might be better to play the Test at a later time.

“We are still discussing the proposed Test and looking at playing it after the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier,” a ZC official said.

With Zimbabwe suffering a cash crunch, they may also prefer to play their Test matches away from home.

Afghanistan have also announced a three-match ODI series against Ireland to take place in Sharjah on December 5, 7 and 10.

The ACB chairman Atif Mashal appeared happy that the team was getting good exposure in limited-overs cricket.

“The two T20Is and five-match ODI series at Sharjah Cricket Stadium will give both sides a valuable opportunity to face each other for competitive cricket ahead of the ICC World Cup Qualifiers in March.”—ESPNcricinfo