Afghanistan and Pakistan will be involved in a quick three-match ODI series starting Tuesday, August 22 in Hambantota, Sri Lanka in a dress rehearsal for the Asia Cup. Afghanistan are the host for the series but it has been held in Sri Lanka, where nine out of 13 matches of the continental event will take place. It will also be an opportunity for Pakistan to test the likes of Saud Shakeel and Tayyab Tahir, and see if they have in them to succeed in the 50-over format at the highest level.
For Afghanistan, Rashid Khan will return from a small niggle, which ruled him out of the Hundred. Afghanistan will be playing an ODI series after more than a month, having defeated Bangladesh in the first week of July 2-1 in a three-match series. But Pakistan is a much tougher opponent and with the Men in Green playing their first-choice side, it will be a challenge for the Hashmatullah Shahidi-led side but one that will keep them in good stead ahead of two big ODI tournaments.
Here's everything you need to know about the Afghanistan-Pakistan ODI series:
Full Schedule
1st ODI - Tuesday, August 22 - Mahinda Rajapaksa International Stadium, Hambantota
2nd ODI - Thursday, August 24 - Mahinda Rajapaksa International Stadium, Hambantota
3rd ODI - Saturday, August 26 - R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo
Squads
Afghanistan: Hashmatullah Shahidi (C), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Rahmat Shah, Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi, Ibrahim Zadran, Riaz Hassan, Najibullah Zadran, Ikram Alikhil, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Abdul Rahman, Mohammad Saleem Safi, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Wafadar Momand.
Pakistan: Babar Azam (C), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Abdullah Shafique, Shadab Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Shaheen Afridi, Tayyab Tahir, Agha Salman, Faheem Ashraf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Haris, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Usama Mir, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf.
Live streaming and telecast details
All three matches between Afghanistan and Pakistan will begin at 3 PM IST. The Afghanistan-Pakistan ODI series will have a live telecast in India on Eurosport channel on TV and the live streaming will be available on the Fancode app and website.
