Pakistan, Afghanistan and the UAE will squeeze in a T20 tri-series in Sharjah from late August to early September, giving all three sides live practice ahead of the men’s Asia Cup that starts on 9 September, also in the Emirates.
Under the simple format each team faces the others twice; the two best-placed sides advance to a night-time final. All matches begin at 7 pm local and are expected to finish before teams shift across the UAE for the Asia Cup. Pakistan sit eighth in the ICC T20I rankings, with Afghanistan ninth and the UAE 14th.
The new fixture list replaces what, under the ICC Future Tours Programme, should have been a short Pakistan-hosted series against Afghanistan. Explaining the switch, PCB director of international cricket Usman Wahla said, “Sharjah offers conditions quite similar to those we’ll meet in the Asia Cup, so the timing made sense for everyone.”
From a playing point of view, Pakistan arrive match-hardened. They are midway through a white-ball tour against West Indies and, at the time of writing, lead 1–0. Their Asia Cup opener comes against Oman on 12 September. Afghanistan have had a quieter build-up; their last T20I was in Zimbabwe eight months ago. “Any time we get a run of matches against top opposition we grab it,” head coach Jonathan Trott noted in Kabul last week.
For the hosts the tri-series is another opportunity to measure progress. Emirates Cricket Board official Mubarak Al Hashmi said, “It’s important our players share the field with established sides – the learning curve is steep but priceless.”
Looking further ahead, Pakistan and Afghanistan are already assured of places at the 2026 T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka: Afghanistan qualified by finishing among the top seven (excluding hosts) at the last edition, Pakistan by virtue of their ranking on 30 June 2024. The UAE must still negotiate the Asia–East Asia Pacific qualifier in Oman from 8–17 October.
Fixtures and broadcast details are expected in the next fortnight.
