Afghanistan will be hosting Ireland for a full series in Dehradun, India. The Asian giants are going to host their European rivals for 3 T20Is, 5 ODIs and a historic maiden Test meeting at the iconic Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium.
Since ICC Cricket World Cup in England and Wales is the immediate priority, the limited-overs series will have enhanced focus over it.
And while one expects Asghar Afghan's spin trio of Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi and Mujeeb-ur-Rehman to be too good for Irish batsmen. Visiting T20I skipper Paul Stirling and ODI & Test captain William Porterfield will be hoping their teams can get used to the conditions as early as possible and give a tough fight to the home side.
The action then moves to the special Test match which shall see one of these two teams clinch their first win in those prestigious whites.
Both Afghanistan and Ireland were announced as the newest Test nations by the International Cricket Council(ICC) after being awarded full membership of the sport's world governing body last year.
The Irish played Pakistan in their inaugural Test in Malahide, while Afghanistan landed in Bangalore to kickstart their sojourn against India.
T20I squads
Afghanistan: Asghar Afghan(c), Usman Ghani, Najeeb Tarakai, Hazratullah Zazai, Samiullah Shenwari, Mohammad Nabi, Shafiqullah Shafiq, Rashid Khan, Najibullah Zadran, Karim Janat, Farid Malik, Sayed Shirzad, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Zahir Khan, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Ziaur Rahman
Ireland: Paul Stirling(c), Andrew Balbirnie, Peter Chase, George Dockrell, Shane Getkate, Joshua Little, Andy McBrine, Kevin O Brien, Stuart Poynter, Boyd Rankin, James Shannon, Simi Singh, Harry Tector, Stuart Thompson, Lorcan Tucker
ODI squads
Afghanistan: Asghar Afghan(c), Mohammad Shahzad, Noor Ali Zadran, Javed Ahmadi, Hazratullah Zazai, Rahmat Shah, Samiullah Shenwari, Mohammad Nabi, Najibullah Zadran, Ikram Ali Khil, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Rashid Khan, Karim Janat, Gulbadin Naib, Aftab Alam, Dawlat Zadran, Zahir Khan, Farid Malik, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Shapoor Zadran, Sayed Shirzad
Ireland: William Porterfield(c), Andrew Balbirnie, Peter Chase, James Cameron-Dow, George Dockrell, Andy McBrine, Barry McCarthy, Tim Murtagh, James McCollum, Kevin O Brien, Stuart Poynter, Boyd Rankin, Simi Singh, Paul Stirling, Lorcan Tucker
Test squads
Afghanistan: Asghar Afghan(c), Mohammad Shahzad, Ihsanullah Janat, Javed Ahmadi, Rahmat Shah, Nasir Jamal, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Ikram Ali Khil, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Wafadar Momand, Yamin Ahmadzai, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Waqar Salamkheil
Ireland: William Porterfield(c), Andrew Balbirnie, James Cameron-Dow, George Dockrell, Andy McBrine, Barry McCarthy, James McCollum, Tim Murtagh, Kevin O Brien, Stuart Poynter, Boyd Rankin, Simi Singh, Paul Stirling, Stuart Thompson, Lorcan Tucker.
Fixtures:-
1st T20I – 21st February 2019 at 1830 IST (Live broadcast on D Sport)
2nd T20I – 23rd February 2019 at 1830 IST (Live broadcast on D Sport)
3rd T20I – 24th February 2019 at 1830 IST
1st ODI – 28th February 2019 from 1300 IST (Live broadcast on D Sport)
2nd ODI – 2nd March 2019 from 1300 IST
3rd ODI – 5th March 2019 from 1300 IST (Live broadcast on D Sport)
4th ODI – 8th March 2019 from 1300 IST (Live broadcast on D Sport)
5th ODI – 10th March 2019 from 1300 IST
Test Match – 15th – 19th March 2019 from 1000 IST
