Afghanistan allotted 'three' home venues in India, to play Test match vs New Zealand in Greater Noida: Reports

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Afghanistan will be hosting New Zealand for a Test match in September in Greater Noida's Shahid Vijay Singh Pathik Sports Complex, a report in Times of India has suggested. This will be the first-ever Test match between Afghanistan and New Zealand.

Afghanistan would be playing in Greater Noida for the first time after 2020. TOI on Sunday, July 21, had reported that BCCI has given a green signal to Afghanistan - now under Taliban rule since 2021 - to host their matches in India after a gap of four years.

Afghanistan were initially supposed to play in Greater Noida in July for a few white-ball matches and two Tests. However, the series was postponed due to severe heat in North India at that time.

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New Zealand agreeing to play bilateral series against Afghanistan, is a decision in complete contrast with their neighbours Australia, who have declined to participate in three bilateral series against the Asian side since Taliban took over in 2021.

As per the TOI report, the BCCI has allotted Greater Noida, Kanpur and Lucknow as the three 'home' venues to Afghanistan. “Soon after the change in Kabul in 2021, when the Taliban took over, the BCCI was the first cricket board to support Afghanistan," a TOI source has informed.

Notably, New Zealand are also scheduled to play three Test matches against India in October-November. The first Test match will be held in Bengaluru from October 16 to October 20, second in Pune from October 24 to October 28, and the third in Mumbai from November 1 to November 5.