Afghanistan set to host India in three T20Is in New Delhi before 2026 Asian Games

New Delhi: Team India will get one more opportunity to fine-tune its preparations before its departure for the Asian Games later this year. The Men in Blue are set to play a short T20I series at home, with all three matches scheduled within a span of five days.

The series is expected to serve as an important build-up for both teams before the start of the men’s cricket competition at the Asian Games, which begins later in September.

Delhi set to host all three T20Is

According to an ESPNcricinfo report, India and Afghanistan will face each other in a three-match T20I series at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi.

Add Cricket Country as a Preferred Source

The matches are scheduled for September 13, 15 and 17, giving both teams valuable match practice before the Asian Games.

Although Afghanistan have played several home series in India over the years because of the lack of international cricket facilities in their own country, this will be the first time they will host India on Indian soil. Previously, Afghanistan have used venues like Dehradun, Greater Noida and Lucknow as their home grounds. They have also regularly hosted international matches in the United Arab Emirates.

The upcoming T20Is will come just a few months after Afghanistan toured India for a multi-format series in June.

India dominated that tour, winning the one-off Test and all three ODIs. However, the series attracted criticism due to the extreme summer heat in which the matches were played.

India eye strong Asian Games preparation

The T20I series comes at an important time for India, who are looking to regain momentum after disappointing results in recent months.

Under new T20I captain Shreyas Iyer, India endured a difficult tour of Ireland before suffering a 4-0 defeat in the five-match T20I series against England.

The ODI team, led by Shubman Gill, also struggled despite having senior stars like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah, losing the three-match series 2-1 after taking the lead.

The Afghanistan series is expected to provide India with much-needed game time before the Asian Games begin.

Busy schedule before Asian Games

Before taking on Afghanistan, India will first travel to Sri Lanka for a two-match Test series.

The men’s cricket competition at the 2026 Asian Games is scheduled to be held from September 24 to October 1.

Cricket first featured at the Asian Games in Guangzhou 2010 before returning in Incheon 2014. It was later removed from the programme before making a comeback in 2023.

India’s squad for the Asian Games

India have already announced a strong squad for the tournament:

Shreyas Iyer (captain), Sanju Samson (wicketkeeper), Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper), Shivam Dube, Tilak Varma (vice-captain), Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Varun Chakravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Jasprit Bumrah.

The three-match series against Afghanistan is expected to help the players settle into the T20 format before India begin their quest for another Asian Games medal later in September.