Afghanistan

Afghanistan are one of the newest Full Members of the ICC, awarded Test status alongside Ireland on 22 June 2017, and governed by the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB), which traces its origins to the Afghanistan Cricket Federation founded in 1995 and is based in Kabul. Afghanistan played their first T20I on 1 February 2010 against Ireland in Colombo, and their first Test on 14 June 2018 against India at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.

Afghanistan have yet to win an ICC title, but their rise has been one of cricket's most remarkable stories. At the 2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup they reached their first semi-final at any senior men's World Cup. In the 50-over Cricket World Cup, their best finish came in 2023, when wins over England, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and the Netherlands carried them to sixth place.

Owing to the security situation at home, Afghanistan stage their home internationals at neutral venues. Their principal grounds are the Sharjah Cricket Stadium in Sharjah and the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, along with the Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow, India.

Hashmatullah Shahidi captains Afghanistan in both Tests and ODIs.

For international fans, a standard day/night start of 18:00 GST in the UAE converts to 14:00 GMT in London, 10:00 EDT in New York, and 00:00 AEST (next day) in Sydney. Matches staged in India begin at 14:00 or 19:30 IST, which is 09:30 or 15:00 BST. Check Afghanistan time for live conversions.