Ireland v Afghanistan: Stormont to host five-game T20 series in August

Ireland's Andrew Balbirnie plays a shot against Afghanistan in the one-day game at Stormont in 2018Inpho

Ireland's Andrew Balbirnie plays a shot against Afghanistan in the one-day game at Stormont in 2018

Ireland will take on Afghanistan in a five-game T20 international series at Stormont in Belfast in August.

The matches will be played on 9, 11, 12, 15 and 17 August, while it will be the first time Afghanistan have played T20s in Belfast.

Both teams will use the series as preparation for the men's T20 World Cup 2022 in October.

Afghanistan are eighth in the T20 world rankings and seven places higher than the Irish.

Ireland lost 2-1 in their last T20 series against Afghanistan in 2020 and have won just four of the 19 meetings between the sides in the format.

"It's a great rivalry that has developed over the years between Ireland and Afghanistan and we warmly welcome the Afghan men's team here once again," said Richard Holdsworth, Ireland's high performance director for cricket.

"With the context of both sides looking to bolster their T20I exposure in the lead-up to the ICC Men's T20 World Cup in October, it was agreed by the Cricket Ireland Board that the previously scheduled Test match and ODI series would be rescheduled to a later date - with both sides looking to maximise our T20I cricket instead.

"Our thanks to the Afghanistan Cricket Board for their support in getting this series approved."

Wednesday's announcement of the series completes Ireland's line-up of home fixtures this summer, which also includes matches against India, New Zealand and South Africa.

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