Afghanistan, Bangladesh in talks for ODI series in Sept

Afghanistan is in talks with the BCB to play their first bilateral ODI series against Bangladesh in Dhaka next month, the Afghanistan Cricket Board has said.

The ACB and the BCB have not yet decided on the number of matches but the series could be held after the Eid holidays, which fall around September 11 and 12.

‘We are in talks with the BCB to play the series next month but we are yet to sign the Memorandum of Understanding [MoU],’ ACB media manager Aziz Gharwal told ESPNcricinfo. ‘We haven’t yet set dates for the matches but we will soon publish the dates on our website.’

The BCB is looking to play a home ODI series before England`s arrival next month, and ESPNcricinfo learned that the board is in talks with one other team, apart from Afghanistan. Akram Khan, the chairman of BCB’s cricket operations, said: ‘We are still in talks with them but we cannot confirm anything at the moment.’

England’s tour of Bangladesh is scheduled to begin on October 7.

If the series against Afghanistan is confirmed, Bangladesh will play their first ODI matches since November 2015. They have only played T20Is in 2016; their last international fixture was in March.

Bangladesh has faced Afghanistan twice in ODIs and once in T20 internationals. The two teams met in the 50-over format during the 2014 Asia Cup - where Afghanistan won by 32 runs - and the 2015 World Cup.

Their only T20 international clash came during the 2014 World T20 in Mirpur.