The Afghanistan men's national team is the 12th test cricket playing Full Member nation. Cricket has been played in Afghanistan since the mid 19th century, but it is only in recent years that the national team has become successful. The Afghanistan Cricket Board was formed in 1995 and became an affiliate member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 2001 and a member of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) in 2003.
Kannur Lokesh Rahul, commonly known as KL Rahul, is an Indian cricketer. A top-order batsman and occasional wicket-keeper, he plays for India internationally, Karnataka in domestic circuit and Kings XI Punjab in the Indian Premier League.
Rashid Khan Arman, commonly known as Rashid Khan, is an Afghan cricketer and the current captain of the national team. He was one of the eleven cricketers to play in Afghanistan's first ever Test match, against India, in June 2018. He returned the most expensive bowling figures by a debutant in a nation's maiden Test match.
Rishabh Pant is a professional Indian cricketer who plays for India, Delhi, and the Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League. In December 2015, he was named in India's squad for the 2016 Under-19 Cricket World Cup. On 1 February 2016, during the tournament, he hit an 18-ball fifty, the fastest at this level. He made his Twenty20 International (T20I) debut for India in January 2017, his Test debut in August 2018, and his One Day International (ODI) debut in October 2018. In January 2019, Pant was named the ICC Emerging Player of the Year at the 2018 ICC Awards.
The 2016–2017 international cricket season was from September 2016 to April 2017. During this period, 41 Test matches, 87 One Day Internationals (ODIs), 43 Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is), 4 first class matches, 16 List A matches, 41 Women's One Day Internationals (WODIs), and 15 Women's Twenty20 Internationals (WT20Is) were played. Of the 41 Test matches that took place in this season, 3 were day/night Test matches. The season started with Pakistan leading the Test cricket rankings, Australia leading the ODI rankings, New Zealand leading the Twenty20 rankings, and Australia women leading the Women's rankings.
Mujeeb Ur Rahman Zadran is an Afghan cricketer, who plays for the Afghanistan national cricket team. He was the first male to play international cricket who was born in the 21st century. Two months after his international debut, at the age of 16 years and 325 days, he became the youngest player to take a five-wicket haul in a One Day International match. He was one of the eleven cricketers to play in Afghanistan's first ever Test match, against India, in June 2018. It was also his first-class cricket debut. His uncle, Noor Ali Zadran, is also an Afghan international cricketer.
The Zimbabwe cricket team toured the United Arab Emirates to play the Afghanistan cricket team in February 2018 to play two Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) and five One Day International (ODI) matches. Initial reports suggested that it would include Afghanistan's first Test match since being awarded Test status by the International Cricket Council in June 2017, but instead the tour consisted of just limited overs matches. An official from Zimbabwe Cricket said that both sides were still in talks to play a Test match, but that would be at some point after the 2018 Cricket World Cup Qualifier.
The Afghanistan cricket team toured India in June 2018 to play a one-off Test match against the India cricket team. It was Afghanistan's first Test since they were awarded Test status by the International Cricket Council (ICC) in June 2017. India won the match in two days by an innings and 262 runs. Afghanistan were dismissed twice in the same day, only the fourth time this has happened in Tests. It was India's biggest win by an innings in Tests, and they became the first Asian team to win a Test match inside two days.
The 2018–19 international cricket season was from September 2018 to April 2019. 35 Test matches, 95 One Day Internationals (ODIs) and 56 Twenty20 International (T20Is) were scheduled to be played during this period. The season started with India leading the Test cricket rankings, England leading the ODI rankings and Pakistan leading the Twenty20 rankings. In October 2018, the International Cricket Council (ICC) introduced separate rankings for women's ODIs and T20Is for the first time, with Australia women leading both tables.
The India cricket team toured Australia from November 2018 to January 2019 to play four Tests, three One Day Internationals (ODIs) and three Twenty20 International (T20I) matches. Initially, the Test match at the Adelaide Oval was planned to be a day/night fixture, but the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) declined the offer from Cricket Australia to play the match under lights. In April 2018, the Western Australian Cricket Association confirmed that the Perth Stadium would host its first ever Test match. During the second Test, it became the tenth venue in Australia to host a Test match.
The 2019 international cricket season is from May 2019 to September 2019. The 2019 Cricket World Cup in England and Wales is taking place during this time, starting on 30 May 2019. Currently, 11 Test matches, 91 One-day Internationals (ODIs) and 71 Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) are scheduled to be played during this period. The season started with India leading the Test cricket rankings, England leading the ODI rankings and Pakistan leading the Twenty20 rankings. On 3 May, the ICC expanded the men's T20I rankings to include all current Full Member and Associate members of the ICC, featuring 80 teams. In the women's rankings, Australia women lead both the WODI and WT20I tables.
The India cricket team are scheduled to tour the West Indies and the United States during August and September 2019 to play two Tests, three One Day Internationals (ODIs) and three Twenty20 International (T20I) matches. The tour will start with two of the T20I matches played at the Central Broward Regional Park in Lauderhill, Florida. The Test series will form part of the inaugural 2019–21 ICC World Test Championship. The fixtures were confirmed in June 2019.
The 2019–20 Bangladesh Tri-Nation Series is a cricket tournament that will take place in September 2019. It is a tri-nation series between Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Zimbabwe with all the matches being played as Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is).
The Bangladesh cricket team is scheduled to tour India in November 2019 to play two Test and three Twenty20 International (T20I) matches. The Test series will form part of the inaugural 2019–21 ICC World Test Championship. It will be the second time that Bangladesh will tour India to play a Test series, and the first time that Bangladesh will play a T20I series against India in India.
The South Africa cricket team is scheduled to tour India in September and October 2019 to play three Tests and three Twenty20 International (T20I) matches. The Test series will form part of the inaugural 2019–21 ICC World Test Championship. South Africa are also scheduled to return to India in March 2020 to play three One Day International (ODI) matches.
The Afghanistan cricket team are scheduled to tour Zimbabwe from August 2019 to play one Test, five One Day Internationals (ODIs) and three Twenty20 International (T20I) matches. A proposed five-match ODI series, scheduled to take place between the two sides in Zimbabwe in April 2019, was called off in March.
The India cricket team are scheduled to tour New Zealand from February 2020 to play two Tests, three One Day Internationals (ODIs) and five Twenty20 International (T20I) matches. The Test series will form part of the inaugural 2019–21 ICC World Test Championship. New Zealand Cricket confirmed the fixtures for the tour in June 2019.
The England cricket team are scheduled to tour New Zealand between October and December 2019 to play two Tests and five Twenty20 International (T20I) matches. New Zealand Cricket confirmed the fixtures for the tour in June 2019. The Bay Oval is scheduled to host its first ever Test match, becoming the ninth Test venue in the country.
The Australia cricket team are scheduled to tour India in January 2020 to play three One Day International (ODI) matches.
The West Indies cricket team are scheduled to tour India in December 2019 to play three One Day Internationals (ODIs) and three Twenty20 International (T20I) matches.
