Afghanistan have lost couple of pre-scheduled bilateral tours against India & Sri Lanka due to pandemic & lack of free window. Due to this glitch, boys are apprehensively moving towards the World T20 carnival.
Although there is an ODI series lined up against Pakistan for the World Cup Super League but there is still no official news about any T20I fixture. So far, the players are relying heavily on their exposure to various franchisee based T20 leagues happening across the globe.
Does the postponement of LPL pose as a threat for the fringe afghan players before the T20 fiesta?
This is the reason why the postponement of the LPL has come as a jolt to most of the second-tier players who were hoping to get some practice in the Lankan island. However players like Nabi, Rashid, Mujeeb & Qais will be playing The Hundred all throughout August.
ACB needs to contemplate that they can not approach a world cup without arranging ample preparatory matches. Even cricket federations of Ireland, Zimbabwe & Sri Lanka are proactive enough to secure bilateral tours for themselves. They could do this in spite of being badly hit by the pandemic & the reluctance of other elite nations to play them.
It proves how these organizations were efficient in terms of managing bilateral talks, diplomacy & negotiations with their peers to organize such tours for the growth & development of their players & ensuring enough match practice before the carnival.
Cricket Australia planning to fix a T20I tri-series with West Indies & Afghanistan before the World Cup in October
It is reported that Australia is keen to play a T20I tri-series in the month of October involving Afghanistan & West Indies. But it is potentially clashing with the dates of IPL which is scheduled in UAE during the same window. Additionally the availability of logistics like venue could become a hindrance in organizing the event prior to the world cup.
If this series doesn’t go ahead, ACB will be entering into the world cup with virtually no international games under their belt which will be such a shame. Will that be fair to the players in terms of expectation to perform well in such a high voltage tournament? Well, the answer is obvious.