The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) has officially confirmed that the three-match Twenty20 International series between Afghanistan and India would take place at Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on September 13, 15, and 17, 2026.
“The ACB hereby confirms that the India tour of Afghanistan 2026 (Event) is scheduled to take place from September 13 to September 17,” stated ACB CEO Naseeb Khan in a formal letter to stakeholders on Monday, August 10, 2026, detailing the schedule and confirming the locations for all three games.
According to Cricbuzz, ACB CEO Naseeb Khan wrote to the board’s commercial partners, “The ACB further confirms that the dates of the Event have been confirmed and agreed with the BCCI and the venues of the scheduled matches have also been finalised.”
This series is the first time Afghanistan would legally host India in a bilateral Twenty20 International series, despite the neutral venue agreement setting all three matches at Arun Jaitley Stadium in India.
What messages were sent to media rights owners by the ACB?
Only media rights holders received Khan’s letter, which provided them advance notice to begin planning the transmission and production of the series. ITW Universe owns the media rights to the series, while the ACB is now negotiating linear broadcast rights with JioStar, Sony Sports, and Zed Unite8. FanCode owns the digital rights.
Although a public statement was still pending at the time of writing, the ACB noted in the letter that rights holders may proceed immediately.
“The ACB is issuing this letter as an official confirmation of the dates and locations of the India tour of Afghanistan 2026, even tho the relevant authorities have not yet issued an official public statement regarding the event. Accordingly, based on the aforementioned schedule, all media rights holders may move forward with their advance planning, scheduling and production arrangements, resource allocation, promotional efforts, and other associated preparations,” the letter continued.
To add a festive touch to the series, the ACB also started negotiating with the BCCI to relocate one match to Ganesh Chaturthi on September 14. No confirmation of such change has been made public as of yet.
What effect does the series have on India’s potential visit to Bangladesh?
After the three-match series concludes on September 17, there will be a four-day break before the Asian Games cricket competition starts on September 23. Because of its schedule, the series comes right before one of the major multi-sport events on the Asian cricket calendar.
The ACB’s formal approval of the September 13–17 schedule immediately affects a potential India tour to Bangladesh. The announced Afghanistan series’ dates now fall inside the September 1–13 window that the Bangladesh Cricket Board had reserved for that tour, making that scheduling option impractical for India at that time.
