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Ireland against Afghanistan in the UAE in 2020–21
	Afghanistan	Ireland
Dates	21 – 26 January 2021
Captains	Asghar Afghan	Andrew Balbirnie
One Day International series
Results	Afghanistan won the 3-match series 3–0
Most runs	Rahmanullah Gurbaz (180)	Paul Stirling (285)
Most wickets	Naveen-ul-Haq (8)	Andy McBrine (6)
Player of the series	Paul Stirling (Ire)

The Ireland cricket team toured the United Arab Emirates in January 2021 to play three One Day International (ODI) matches against Afghanistan. The ODI series formed part of the inaugural 2020–2023 ICC Cricket World Cup Super League. All of the matches were played at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi.

The Afghanistan team's visa applications for travel to the UAE were delayed, resulting in the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) making contingency plans for the series to be played in Oman. However, on 5 January 2021, the ACB confirmed that the team would be travelling to the UAE per the original schedule. The start of the series was moved back three days from the original schedule, due to the visa issues and a ten-day quarantine period in place in the UAE.

In the opening match, debutant Rahmanullah Gurbaz scored 127 runs to help Afghanistan win by 16 runs. In the second match, Rahmat Shah scored a century, with Afghanistan winning by seven wickets to take an unassailable lead in the series. Afghanistan won the third ODI by 36 runs, to win the series 3–0.

Squads

ODIs
Afghanistan	Ireland
Asghar Afghan (c) Rashid Khan (vc) Javed Ahmadi Yamin Ahmadzai Sharafuddin Ashraf Usman Ghani Mohammad Nabi Gulbadin Naib Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk) Azmatullah Omarzai Rahmat Shah Hashmatullah Shahidi Sayed Shirzad Naveen-ul-Haq Mujeeb Ur Rahman Najibullah Zadran	Andrew Balbirnie (c) Paul Stirling (vc) Mark Adair Curtis Campher David Delany Gareth Delany Shane Getkate Josh Little Andy McBrine Barry McCarthy James McCollum Kevin O'Brien Conor Olphert Neil Rock (wk) Simi Singh Harry Tector Lorcan Tucker (wk) Craig Young

David Delany was ruled out of the series due to a knee injury, with Josh Little joining Ireland's squad. Little was originally named in the team, but had to self-isolate after a positive COVID-19 result from a close contact. Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi and Mujeeb Ur Rahman were all playing in the Big Bash League in Australia, before leaving the tournament to join the rest of the Afghanistan squad. On 11 January 2021, Shane Getkate was added to Ireland's squad, as a replacement for David Delany, and Conor Olphert was added to their squad as a net bowler.

Tour match

Ahead of the ODI series, the two teams played in unofficial warm-up match, with Afghanistan winning by 23 runs.

Afghanistan  264 (44.1 overs)	v	Ireland 241 (44.4 overs)
Hashmatullah Shahidi 61 (75) Curtis Campher 3/31 (5.1 overs)		Harry Tector 42 (53) Sayed Shirzad 3/28 (7 overs)

• Ireland won the toss and elected to field.
• The match was reduced to 45 overs per side.

ODI series

1st ODI

Afghanistan  287/9 (50 overs)	v	Ireland 271/9 (50 overs)
Rahmanullah Gurbaz 127 (127) Andy McBrine 5/29 (10 overs)		Lorcan Tucker 83 (96) Naveen-ul-Haq 3/68 (9 overs)

• Afghanistan won the toss and elected to bat.
• Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Azmatullah Omarzai (Afg) both made their ODI debuts.
• Andy McBrine (Ire) took his 50th wicket and his first five-wicket haul in ODIs.
• Rahmanullah Gurbaz became the first batsman for Afghanistan to score a century on their ODI debut.
• World Cup Super League points: Afghanistan 10, Ireland 0.

2nd ODI

Ireland  259/9 (50 overs)	v	Afghanistan 260/3 (45.2 overs)
Paul Stirling 128 (132) Naveen-ul-Haq 4/42 (10 overs)		Rahmat Shah 103* (109) Curtis Campher 1/28 (4 overs)

• Ireland won the toss and elected to bat.
• World Cup Super League points: Afghanistan 10, Ireland 0.

3rd ODI

Afghanistan  266/9 (50 overs)	v	Ireland 230 (47.1 overs)
Rashid Khan 48 (40) Simi Singh 3/37 (10 overs)		Paul Stirling 118 (119) Rashid Khan 4/29 (9 overs)

• Ireland won the toss and elected to field.
• Paul Stirling scored his 12th century, the most by a cricketer for Ireland in ODIs.
• World Cup Super League points: Afghanistan 10, Ireland 0.

References

1. "Final touches being made to busy schedule for Ireland's cricketers". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
2. "Balbirnie not heading to Abu Dhabi for a holiday as Ireland's cricketers reconvene for first time in five months". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
3. "Schedule for inaugural World Test Championship announced". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
4. "Men's Future Tours Programme" (PDF). International Cricket Council. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 July 2019. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
5. "Afghanistan confirm Ireland matches in Abu Dhabi". Cricket Europe. Archived from the original on 17 November 2020. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
6. "Afghanistan-Ireland ODI series provides BBL headache". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
7. "Squad announced for Ireland series". Afghanistan Cricket Board. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
8. "Afghanistan-Ireland series to be held in the UAE after visas come through". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
9. "National team to travel to UAE today for Ireland series". Afghanistan Cricket Board. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
10. "Change of fixture dates agreed for Afghanistan v Ireland series". Cricket Ireland. Archived from the original on 6 January 2021. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
11. "Will Afghanistan series be delayed?". Cricket Europe. Archived from the original on 5 January 2021. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
12. "Gurbaz century stars on Afghanistan debut in Super League win over Ireland". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
13. "Rahmat Shah's 103* trumps Paul Stirling's 128 as Afghanistan go 2-0 up". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
14. "3rd ODI, Abu Dhabi, Jan 26 2021, Ireland tour of United Arab Emirates". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
15. "Afghanistan announce 16-member squad for ODI series against Ireland". Cricbuzz. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
16. "Ireland names 16-man squad to face UAE and Afghanistan in back-to-back series' in January". Cricket Ireland. Archived from the original on 12 December 2020. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
17. "Injury forces change to Irish squad ahead of UAE series". Cricket Ireland. Archived from the original on 6 January 2021. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
18. "Ireland v Afghanistan: This month's series to start three days later than scheduled". BBC Sport. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
19. "Rashid, Nabi, Mujeeb to depart BBL for international duty; Siddle suffers minor fracture". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
20. "Shane Getkate called into Ireland squad for UAE, Afghanistan ODIs". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
21. "Shane Getkate and Conor Olphert fly out to Abu Dhabi to join squad". Cricket Ireland. Archived from the original on 29 August 2022. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
22. "Afghanistan beat Ireland in warm-up". Cricket Europe. Archived from the original on 16 January 2021. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
23. "1st ODI: Debut century for Gurbaz gives Afghanistan edge against Ireland". Times of India. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
24. "AFG vs IRE: डेब्यू पर धमाका करना रहा है पुराना शौक, 19 साल के इस बल्लेबाज के बल्ले में बड़ी 'आग' है". TV9 Hindi. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
25. "Afghanistan move up in CWC Super League with series sweep over Ireland". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 26 January 2021.

External links

• Series home at ESPN Cricinfo

• 2021 in Afghan cricket
• 2021 in Irish cricket
• International cricket competitions in 2020–21
• Afghan cricket tours of the United Arab Emirates
• Irish cricket tours of the United Arab Emirates
• Afghanistan–Ireland sports relations