Afghanistan to Play 3 ODIs vs Pakistan in UAE Soon

Pakistan could be returning to the UAE soon, but for an away series this time around.

Afghanistan are due to host Pakistan in the ICC Cricket World Cup Super League around September this year. The series will take place in the United Arab Emirates. It will count as a “home” assignment for Afghanistan in the newly launched ICC Cricket World Cup Super League.

The World Cup Super League was brought in to bring meaning and context to bilateral ODI cricket. It involves 13 teams playing a series of 3 ODIs against eight different opponents. Four of those series will be home series. Teams play for points which contribute towards World Cup qualification. 10 points are available for ODI victories.

It is like what you have in international football outside of major tournaments.

Like a World Test Championship for the longest format; something similar is in place for bilateral ODI contests as well.

With the World Cup being restricted to 10 teams it was necessary to have a more concentrated World Cup qualification process where the lower ranked teams play an equal number of games against everybody else as opposed to just doing World Cup qualification based on rankings where the so-called lesser teams (Ireland, Afghanistan and Zimbabwe) don’t play enough against the higher ranked teams to realistically rise in the rankings and press their case for direct World Cup qualification.

Additionally, with the ICC Champions Trophy terminated it was necessary for something else to be in place for ODIs in between World Cups. The Cricket World Cup Super League helps bridge the gap. Teams will try to qualify first and foremost, but they can also play to try and win the league outright once they have qualified.

Pakistan have played Afghanistan on five occasions in international cricket across ODIs and T20Is with Pakistan emerging victorious on all five occasions. Nonetheless, there have been some nail-biting finishes in those fixtures.

Pakistan won 2-1 against Zimbabwe at home whereas Afghanistan whitewashed Ireland 3-0 in the United Arab Emirates in their first series in the World Cup Super League.