Historic Test series: India to host Afghanistan for the first-time ever

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New Delhi: In a first, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced on Tuesday that India will host Afghanistan for a historic Test series next year.

Afghanistan's tour will be part of India's home series in the 2018-19 calendar and shows the growing bond between not just the two countries but the two cricketing boards as well.

The country - alongwith Ireland - were approved as full members by International Cricket Council (ICC) in June. There was massive celebrations in the country after ICC's decision - especially as it took Afghanistan eight years to move from getting ODI status to getting Test status. Exposure for Afghan cricketers is expected to be the main highlight when they come calling to play against a team which is currently top-ranked in the Test format. Also, while Afghanistan gained full member status only in 2017, India first played a Test in 1932.

The national cricket team of Afghanistan has gone from strength to strength in recent years, and had repeatedly shown the credentials to play in the longest format of the game. The team recently drew an ODI series against West Indies and had defeated Zimbabwe in an ODI series a year earlier.