Afghanistan to face Sri Lanka in white-ball cricket series in UAE

The Afghanistan Cricket Board announced that the national cricket team will compete against Sri Lanka in a white-ball series consisting of three Twenty20 internationals and three one-day internationals.

The series begins on March 13 in the United Arab Emirates, with the T20 matches scheduled in Sharjah and the ODIs starting March 20 in Dubai, according to a statement from the Afghanistan Cricket Board.

The teams last met in early 2024 in a bilateral series where Afghanistan was the visiting team. Sri Lanka won that series, taking the ODIs 3-0 and the T20s 2-1.

Nasib Khan, executive chairman of the Afghanistan Cricket Board, welcomed the series, describing it as the first bilateral series hosted by Afghanistan against Sri Lanka. He said it signifies expanding cooperation between the two boards and expects high-level competition.

Ashley de Silva, CEO of Sri Lanka Cricket, highlighted the importance of bilateral cricket in the international calendar and called participation in this tour valuable for his board.

This will be the first matchup between the teams since the Men's T20 World Cup, where Afghanistan exited in the group stage and Sri Lanka advanced to the Super 8 stage.