Afghanistan, Sri Lanka series postponed amid US-Israel vs Iran conflict:Scheduled to play 3 ODIs T20Is in UAE; expected to be rescheduled later

The upcoming white-ball series between the Afghanistan national cricket team and the Sri Lanka national cricket team has been postponed because of the ongoing military conflict in the Middle East. Officials from the Afghanistan Cricket Board confirmed the development on Tuesday. The two teams were originally scheduled to play three One Day Internationals (ODIs) and three T20 Internationals in the United Arab Emirates from March 13 to March 25. However, travel restrictions and logistical problems caused by the tensions between the United States, Israel, and Iran forced the organisers to postpone the series. The decision was taken after authorities realised that arranging travel, security, and match operations would be extremely difficult under the current situation. Travel and logistics issues forced the decision ACB Chief Executive Naseeb Khan explained that the main problems were related to flights and logistics in the region. “Yes, the white-ball series against Sri Lanka is postponed,” Naseeb Khan told Cricbuzz on Tuesday. “There were some issues with flights, logistics, and the regional situation.” The Afghanistan Cricket Board also tried to find alternative solutions so that the matches could still be played. One of the options considered was shifting the entire series to Sri Lanka. “We also explored a second option to stage these matches in Sri Lanka and remained in continuous contact with the Sri Lanka Cricket Board. However, there were no available flights from the UAE to Sri Lanka at that time,” he said. Organising matches in short time was difficult Even if travel had been possible, the ACB said it would still have been very challenging to organise an international series at such short notice. “Moreover, arranging production, hotels, ground bookings, and security within such a short period was quite challenging. Therefore, we ultimately decided to postpone it,” he said. Because of these difficulties, both cricket boards agreed that postponing the series would be the safest and most practical decision. Series expected to be rescheduled later this year The Afghanistan Cricket Board has confirmed that the matches will not be cancelled completely and will instead be rescheduled. “It (the series) will be played in the last quarter of this year,” Naseeb Khan added. The series was expected to be an important one for Afghanistan because it would have marked the beginning of a new era in their T20I leadership. Recently, Afghanistan appointed Ibrahim Zadran as their new T20I captain, replacing star all-rounder Rashid Khan.