Afghanistan vs South Africa First-ever ODI Series: The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) confirms that it will host South Africa for a series of three One Day International (ODI) matches from September 18 – 22 in the United Arab Emirates. This three-match ODI series will be the first-ever bilateral cricket series between the two countries hosted by Afghanistan.

The first ODI will be played on September 18, with the second and third ODIs scheduled for September 20 and 22 respectively at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium in UAE.

South Africa and Afghanistan have met twice in the ODI format before, in the ICC Men's Cricket World Cups 2019 and 2023, with South Africa emerging victors on both occasions. Similarly, they've met thrice in T20Is before, in Men's T20 World Cups (2010, 2016, 2024), with Proteas winning on all occasions..

Last meeting of both teams was in the semi-final of the Men's T20 World Cup 2024, where South Africa raced to a formidable win over Afghanistan.

“We are excited to embark on this historic ODI series with Afghanistan, who have become a very competitive all-round team as evidenced by their recent performances in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 and most recently at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024. This is a significant milestone in our cricketing relations, and we look forward to a competitive and entertaining series,” CSA Chairman Lawson Naidoo," said.

Originally, the series was not in the Future Tours Program (FTP), but ACB Chairman Mirwais Ashraf is pleased to be able to "host" South Africa following "productive negotiations."

“These fixtures were not initially part of our FTP. Still, based on our productive negotiations with our counterparts at Cricket South Africa, we concluded that we will host the Proteas for an ODI series in September. They are an excellent team, and we are eagerly looking forward to hosting them and playing them regularly in the future," he said.

ODI Series Schedule:

8 September: Afghanistan vs South Africa, 1st ODI, Sharjah Cricket Stadium, UAE

20 September: Afghanistan vs South Africa, 2nd ODI, Sharjah Cricket Stadium, UAE

22 September: Afghanistan vs South Africa, 3rd ODI, Sharjah Cricket Stadium, UAE.

Afghanistan has never played Cricket South Africa in bilateral cricket before, and this event will be a significant milestone for Afghanistan Cricket.