Afghanistan Cricket Board CEO Shafiq Stanikzai said on Wednesday that it would be memorable to begin their journey in Test cricket against India, but would regret to not play Virat Kohli.

Afghanistan would miss the exposure playing against world-class Kohli when they will begin their historic Test journey in India, as the Indian skipper will not be part of their debut Test as he will be in England to play county cricket for Surrey.  

Stanikzai is disappointed with the fact that his players will miss playing against Kohli, but happy to see their dream come true finally and keen to cherish every single moment of the match.

The one-off Test between Indian and Afghanistan is scheduled to be played at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru from 14 June.  

As per reports in Press Trust of India, the ACB CEO said, “We lived this dream to play this first Test against India in India. That moment has come true. Virat is a world cricket icon, something our players will miss the exposure playing against. Nevertheless, it will be a good opportunity and we will cherish every single moment of that match.”

Stanikzai further said of playing Indian in their Test debut, “India are a tough team to get hold of because they are very busy. Since we are not in Test Championship, the inaugural Test match is good enough for us. We are playing 14-18 Tests in new FTP cycle.”

At the moment, Afghanistan plays their home matches at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, as well as, they also have two ‘home’ ground in India — Greater Noida and Dehradun.

He signed off, “For the time being we have three venues to choose from. We have two venues in India thanks to the BCCI. We also have Sharjah Cricket Ground; it depends on the scheduling where we play.”

As per their new FTP, Afghanistan will play bilateral home and away series against England, Australia, West Indies, Zimbabwe, Ireland and Bangladesh, and “it does not come under the Test Championship.”