Recently, an agreement was signed between Afghanistan Cricket Board and Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) to host Afghanistan as its home ground for the next 5 years. With that ECB has also agreed to support office set-up and VISA clearance.
An ECB official has said The ECB would “provide valuable logistic support to the Afghanistan Cricket Board, including visa assistance and office space”.
The Afghanistan team has already been playing and training in the UAE but on a series-by-series basis. Now, there’s a formal longer-term deal in place.
Given the political situation in Afghanistan, it has remained a no-go zone for international teams. The situation escalated with the Taliban takeover in August 2021.
As per the ICC’s Future Tours Programme (FTP), Afghanistan is set to host Australia, Pakistan and West Indies in three ODIs each, as well as Zimbabwe across formats, in the next year leading into the 2023 ODI World Cup. In the UAE, these can be spread across venues in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah.