New Zealand will be playing a one-off test against Afghanistan later this year in Noida. This will be the first-ever test between these two nations. The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) confirmed the development on Saturday (27th of July).

Afghanistan has played a total of 9 tests to date. They received their test status in 2017 and played their first-ever test in 2018 against India at the M Chinnaswamy stadium in Bengaluru. They have won a total of 3 tests out of their 9 and the wins came against Zimbabwe, Ireland, and Bangladesh respectively.

The test is scheduled to be played from the 9th of September in Noida, a place where Afghanistan have hosted games previously as well following an agreement with the BCCI. New Zealand are expected to arrive in Noida on the 5th of September and will undergo a 3-day conditioning camp.

“We are delighted to host a quality New Zealand Test team for the first time in our cricketing history,” ACB Chairman Mr. Mirwais Ashraf said. “This is a testament to the hard work we have put in through numerous discussions and meetings with different boards on the sidelines of the various ICC Board Meetings. The Blackcaps are an outstanding all-format team in world cricket, and we hope to reach an agreement with New Zealand Cricket for white-ball bilateral matches in the future.”