Afghanistan board says postponement “due to the inability of arranging the required broadcasting services by the host country”

The Afghanistan Cricket Board said on Saturday that its team’s tour of Zimbabwe, scheduled for early February, has been postponed. The series cannot take place as scheduled “due to the inability of arranging the required broadcasting services by the host country,” the ACB said in a statement.

This is the second time the series has been pushed back – it was initially meant to be played in December 2021, but was put off then at the ACB’s request following the Omicron outbreak.

“We were in contact with Zimbabwe Cricket [in December] on how to proceed with the series upon the breakout of a new Covid-19 variant in Zimbabwe. Then considering the circumstances in Zimbabwe, both parties agreed to proceed with the series in February,” ACB cricket operations manager, Abdul Wali Amin, was quoted as saying in the board’s statement. “We had then assessed and negotiated the concerns related to Covid-19 and travel restrictions in Zimbabwe. We had also reached an agreement with ZC to proceed with the series as planned in February.

“But we were informed by ZC that they are unable to secure the required broadcast services including the Decision Review System, so the tour was postponed for the second time.”

The series was scheduled to include three ODIs, which count towards the World Cup Super League, and five T20Is.

The ACB is now “working on” firming up Afghanistan’s tour of Bangladesh in February, for three ODIs (World Cup Super League) and two T20Is, as per the ICC’s Future Tours Programme.