West Indies and Afghanistan will meet in a three-match T20I series in Sharjah on 19, 21 and 22 January 2026, slipping neatly into the diary just before February’s T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka.
“This series provides an ideal platform for our preparation. Facing strong opposition in subcontinental conditions will help us sharpen our combinations and approach, and it also gives our players a chance to build confidence on surfaces similar to those we’ll encounter in India and Sri Lanka,” CWI director of cricket Miles Bascombe said.
The two sides know each other reasonably well. Eight previous T20Is have produced five West Indies wins and three for Afghanistan, though their most recent meetings came back in the Caribbean during the last World Cup cycle. West Indies, co-hosts in 2024, reached the Super Eights on home soil but stalled there. Afghanistan, by contrast, pushed on to a maiden semi-final, proof that their rise in the shortest format is more than a feel-good storyline.
Naseeb Khan, chief executive of the Afghanistan Cricket Board, welcomed the timing. “Competing against the West Indies on the brink of a global event presents an excellent opportunity for our team to finalize their lineup and enhance their preparations for the upcoming mega event in India and Sri Lanka,” he said.
Sharjah’s slower, low-bounce pitches should mirror what both squads expect a fortnight later. Spin bowling will figure, but strike rotation and boundary hitting remain the currencies that usually decide T20 contests. For West Indies, identifying a reliable middle-order anchor is high on the to-do list after recent collapses. Afghanistan will look to settle on their pace options behind the established new-ball pair.
Three games are never a perfect laboratory, yet they offer enough overs to stress-test plans, adjust batting orders and, crucially, allow players to find rhythm. With the World Cup so close, neither camp can afford to treat the series as mere warm-ups; every over bowled and every run scored may influence final squad calls.
