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Afghanistan to play their first ever Test cricket in India against Australia
New Delhi: India will host Afghanistan for their first ever Test cricket in 2019-2020, the BCCI announced in Mumbai today.
Afghanistan earned their Test status alongside Ireland this June.
“Afghans were scheduled to play their first Test in 2019 versus Australia but considering the historic relationship between India and Afghanistan, we decided to host their first Test,” said BCCI acting secretary Amitabh Choudhary after the Special General Meeting here today.
India to become host of Afghanistan first ever Test cricket against Australia:
Afghanistan and Ireland were made full members of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in June, becoming the sport’s 11th and 12th Test-playing nations.
Besides welcoming them into five-day cricket, the BCCI has extended a helping hand to Afghanistan on a number of occasions.
The team from the war-ravaged nation has hosted its home games in India, most recently the series against Ireland in Greater Noida.
Rashid Khan and Mohammed Nabi became the first two Afghanistan cricketers to be bought at the IPL auction earlier this year.
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Sunil Gavaskar gives his opinion of GT allrounder Rahul Tewatia
The left-handed batsman from Haryana is garnering praise from all quarters for the way he’s finishing games regularly in the most exciting IPL season.
Gavaskar reckons Tewatia’s whirlwind knock in Sharjah (in IPL 2020) where he smashed West Indies pacer Sheldon Cottrell for five sixes in an over, gave him the confidence that he belongs to the big stage.
Speaking on Cricket Live on Star Sports, Gavaskar said, “That assault on Sheldon Cottrell in Sharjah gave him the belief to do the impossible and the confidence that he belongs here. We saw the impossible (he did with the bat) the other day as well. There’s no twitching or touching the pads (which shows a batter’s nervousness) when he bats in the death overs. He just waits for the ball to be delivered and plays his shots. He’s got all the shots in the book, but most importantly his temperament to stay cool in a crisis is brilliant.”
Gavaskar has also nicknamed the 28-year-old cricketer the ‘ice-man’ and lauded Tewatia’s ability to remain unruffled during the tense moments.