Visa Delays Cut Afghanistan U19 Series to Four Matches
Visa delays have cut Afghanistan Under-19’s planned five-match one-day series against Bangladesh in Oman to four games. The disruption leaves both teams with less match preparation before the Under-19 Asia Cup, while the opening fixture has moved to October 16.
Afghanistan’s Under-19 cricket team will play one fewer one-day international against Bangladesh in Oman after visa delays disrupted the visitors’ travel arrangements and forced organisers to revise the schedule.
The series was initially due to begin on October 13 and comprise five matches. According to reporting by Pajhwok Afghan News and Bangladesh’s Daily Star, it has been reduced to four, with the first game now scheduled for October 16 and the last on October 23.
The change has particular consequences for Afghanistan’s preparation. The young side is using the Oman tour to develop its one-day combination before the Under-19 Asia Cup, scheduled to start on November 5 in the same country. Losing a competitive fixture reduces the opportunities to assess players and combinations against a familiar regional opponent.
The Afghanistan Cricket Board said its team departed for Oman on Monday, October 12. Bangladesh’s travel was less straightforward. The Daily Star reported that visa complications had already delayed the squad’s departure from Dhaka, leaving uncertainty over the revised travel plan on the eve of the original opening match.
Bangladesh Under-19 head coach Hannan Sarkar told the newspaper that the new schedule contained four matches instead of five. The Bangladesh Cricket Board had previously confirmed that visa issuance depended on the necessary approvals from Omani authorities.
Afghanistan are also due to face Oman Under-19 in two one-day matches on October 27 and 30, according to the revised programme reported by Pajhwok. That would give the squad additional opportunities to prepare after the Bangladesh series, provided the remaining fixtures go ahead.
Sohail Khan captains Afghanistan’s Under-19 squad. The forthcoming Asia Cup places Afghanistan and Bangladesh in the same group, meaning the two sides are due to meet again soon after their bilateral series.
Some international fixture listings continued to display the original October 13 start and five-match format after the postponement. The revised information from the cricket boards and contemporaneous reporting should therefore take precedence over those uncorrected listings.
The immediate test for organisers is to complete the revised four-match series without further disruption. For Afghanistan, the more important measure will be how much useful competitive preparation the shortened tour provides before the continental tournament.
Sources: Pajhwok Afghan News; The Daily Star.
