Photo Credit: Afghanistan Cricket Board
The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) confirms it will host the New Zealand National Cricket Team for a one-off Test Match from September 9–13 in Greater Noida, India. This historic event will mark Afghanistan’s first Test match against the Blackcaps and the first-ever bilateral cricket series hosted by ACB involving New Zealand.
The Blackcaps are set to arrive in Greater Noida on September 5 for a three-day conditioning camp ahead of the Test Match. Meanwhile, the Afghanistan National Team will head to Delhi in late August for a one-week-long training and preparation camp.
The Greater Noida venue is one of those allocated venues for Afghanistan’s home games, following a mutual agreement between ACB and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
ACB Chairman Mr. Mirwais Ashraf expressed his excitement about hosting New Zealand for the first time and said: “We are delighted to host a quality New Zealand Test team for the first time in our cricketing history. This is a testament to the hard work we have put in through numerous discussions and meetings with different boards on the sidelines of the various ICC Board Meetings.”
He added, “The Blackcaps are an outstanding all-format team in world cricket, and we hope to reach an agreement with New Zealand Cricket for white-ball bilateral matches in the future.”
This will be Afghanistan’s 10th Test match and their first against New Zealand since acquiring Test status in 2017. Afghanistan has previously won three Test matches, each against Ireland (2019), Bangladesh (2019), and Zimbabwe (2021).
