Afghanistan will host India in a three-match T20I series at Delhi’s Arun Jaitley Cricket Stadium from September 13 to 17, 2026. The bilateral fixtures form part of the Future Tours Program and serve as crucial preparation for India ahead of the upcoming Asian Games in Japan.
Delhi Schedule and Bilateral Context for September 2026
Action gets underway with the opening fixture on September 13, followed by the second contest on September 15 and the final match on September 17. All three matches will be played at the same venue, and every game is scheduled to begin at 7:00 PM local time.
This encounter marks only the second bilateral T20I contest between India and Afghanistan. The two teams last met in a three-match series in January 2024, when India hosted Afghanistan in Mohali, Indore and Bengaluru, and India won the series. The upcoming games complete a full-format run of bilateral cricket between the two sides in 2026. India recently hosted Afghanistan for a one-off test—where India beat Afghanistan by an innings and 300 runs—and then sealed a 3-0 sweep of the one-day international series in June.
Neutral Venues and Administrative Backing
Although Afghanistan will be the “home” side when they meet India in three Twenty20 Internationals in September, the series will take place at Delhi’s Arun Jaitley Stadium. Afghanistan have largely played their home fixtures in the United Arab Emirates in recent years, with international sport yet to resume in the country due to security concerns following the Taliban’s takeover in 2021.
The series is part of Afghanistan’s Future Tours Program and will be played in India, with Afghanistan hosting its home fixtures at neutral venues as in recent years.
In a statement, Afghanistan Cricket Board Chairman Mirwais Ashraf stated that they had hosted their home fixtures in both India and the UAE in recent years, and given the importance and scale of this series, he believed India provided an excellent setting for the event.
The Indian board’s president Mithun Manhas said they were committed to supporting the growth of cricket in Afghanistan.
We believe there is scope to do more together and will continue to support Afghanistan cricket while strengthening the relationship between the two cricketing nations, he added.
Asian Games Preparation and Squad Stakes
The three matches will be particularly important for India as they come just days before the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, which will take place from September 19 to October 4.
The men’s cricket competition at the Asian Games will be played in the T20 format, with the competition beginning on September 24 and the final scheduled for October 3. Ten teams – India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Japan, Nepal, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Oman – will compete for the gold medal.
The upcoming contest comes at an important stage for India’s T20I side, which has endured a difficult run under captain Shreyas Iyer. India began the recent stretch with a 2-0 series defeat against Ireland before suffering a 4-0 loss against England in the following series. The team managed to halt that slide with a 3-0 victory over Zimbabwe in the recently concluded T20I series.
The series will also serve as useful preparation for the players selected in India’s Asian Games squad. With the Asian Games campaign approaching, the three matches against Afghanistan will give the team an opportunity to assess combinations and provide players such as Vaibhav Sooryavanshi with valuable T20I game time while allowing the team management to fine-tune its plans before the continental competition. India have already announced their T20 squad for the Asian Games, and it is most likely that the squad for the Afghanistan series will also be quite similar.
India men’s T20I squad for Asian Games includes Shreyas Iyer (capt), Sanju Samson (wk), Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan (wk), Shivam Dube, Tilak Varma (vice-capt), Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Varun Chakravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, and Jasprit Bumrah.
Broadcasting Rights and Match Schedule
Fans across mobile, web, and connected television platforms will watch the series via digital broadcast partner FanCode. They’ve acquired the exclusive digital rights for the three-match series.
| Date | Match | Timings (IST / GMT / Local) |
|---|---|---|
| Sun, Sep 13 | Afghanistan vs India, 1st T20I | 7:00 PM IST / 1:30 PM GMT / 7:00 PM Local |
| Tue, Sep 15 | Afghanistan vs India, 2nd T20I | 7:00 PM IST / 1:30 PM GMT / 7:00 PM Local |
| Thu, Sep 17 | Afghanistan vs India, 3rd T20I | 7:00 PM IST / 1:30 PM GMT / 7:00 PM Local |
