Afghanistan-Sri Lanka white-ball series postponed

KABUL: Afghanistan's home white-ball series against Sri Lanka, comprising three T20Is and ODIs each, has been postponed due to "logistical challenges", the country's cricket board announced on Wednesday.

Afghanistan was originally to host Sri Lanka for the white-ball series from March 13 to 25 in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), but due to the ongoing instability in West Asia, it has been postponed until the last quarter of the ongoing year.

"The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) announces that the Afghanistan vs Sri Lanka bilateral series, originally scheduled to commence on 13 March in the United Arab Emirates, has been rescheduled to the last quarter of 2026 due to logistical challenges, including flight constraints arising from the ongoing regional situation," the ACB said in a statement.

"Following the receipt of the required sanction from the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB), preparations had been finalised for hosting the matches across the two venues. However, in early March, unforeseen developments created logistical constraints that affected travel arrangements and operational planning for the series," it added.

As per the original schedule, the T20I leg of the white-ball series was scheduled in Sharjah, with matches scheduled to be played on March 13, 15 and 17, respectively, while the three ODIs were slated to be played in Dubai on March 20, 22 and 25, respectively.

The ACB further shared that it held a series of consultations with the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB), Sharjah Cricket Stadium (SCS), and Dubai International Cricket Stadium (DICS), and despite the collective efforts of all the parties, the logistical challenges remained beyond their operational control and thus led to the postponement of the series.

"To address the situation, the Afghanistan Cricket Board held a series of consultations with key stakeholders, including the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB), Sharjah Cricket Stadium (SCS), and Dubai International Cricket Stadium (DICS)," the ACB shared.

"A joint meeting convened by the ACB on 4 March resulted in a recommendation to monitor the situation and reassess by 6 March, in the hope that conditions would improve. A subsequent follow-up meeting on 7 March recommended waiting until 9 March before making a final determination.

"Despite the collective efforts of all parties to proceed with the event as planned, the logistical challenges remained beyond operational control, leading to the decision to postpone the series and explore rescheduling options."

The ACB further clarified that the UAE remained the preferred venue for the rescheduled series, whose new dates will be announced in due course following the consultation with the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) and other stakeholders.

For the unversed, the postponed white-ball series against Sri Lanka was set to be Afghanistan's first under Ibrahim Zadran's leadership, with the opener taking over the reins from star all-rounder Rashid Khan after their group-stage exit from the recently concluded ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026.