India vs Afghanistan T20I Series Preview: A Historic Home Away From Home

India's captain Shreyas Iyer, right, and Afghanistan's captain Ibrahim Zadran unveil Friendship Cup trophy ahead of the first T20I cricket match of a series, in New Delhi. (PTI Photo)

India will begin their three-match T20I series against Afghanistan with the first match at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on Sunday. While the match is being played in India, the series is officially a home series for Afghanistan. The Afghanistan Cricket Board is hosting all three T20Is in Delhi, with the remaining two matches also scheduled at the same venue. Both teams are using the series to prepare for the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya.

Why India are the away team in Delhi

Even though the matches are being played in Delhi, India will take the field as the visiting team because Afghanistan are the designated hosts of the series. For security reasons, Afghanistan cannot host international matches in their own country. As a result, they play their home fixtures in India or the UAE. Afghanistan have hosted other international teams in India before, but this is the first time they are hosting India on Indian soil. It will also be a first for Indian cricket. In the 94-year history of Indian cricket, this is the first time India will play a match at home without being the home team.

Afghanistan captain will toss the coin

As the home side, Afghanistan captain Ibrahim Zadran will toss the coin before the match, while India captain Shreyas Iyer will call heads or tails.

India to use the away dressing room

The Arun Jaitley Stadium has separate dressing rooms for the home and visiting teams. For this series, Afghanistan will use the home dressing room, while India will use the visitors’ dressing room. The series also gives the Afghanistan Cricket Board an opportunity to earn revenue from broadcast rights, ticket sales and in-stadium commercial rights through a “home away from home” series in India.