India will begin their three-match T20I series against Afghanistan at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on Sunday, but the match will have an unusual distinction: India will be playing as the visiting side despite the series being held on Indian soil.
The reason is that Afghanistan are officially the hosts of the series. The Afghanistan Cricket Board is staging all three T20Is in Delhi, with the second and third matches also scheduled at the same venue. The arrangement allows Afghanistan to conduct their home series outside the country while giving both teams an opportunity to prepare for the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya.
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Why India are the away team
Although Delhi is home territory for Indian cricket, the official designation of the series determines which team is considered the home side. Since Afghanistan are hosting the three-match series, India will enter the games as the visiting team.
Afghanistan have been unable to host international matches in their own country because of security concerns. Their home fixtures have therefore been staged in neutral venues, including India and the UAE.
The Afghanistan Cricket Board has previously hosted other international teams in India. However, this series marks a significant first because Afghanistan are now hosting India on Indian soil.
For Indian cricket, the arrangement is historic in another way. According to the supplied report, this is the first time in the 94-year history of Indian cricket that India will play a match at home without being designated the home team.
Afghanistan captain gets the toss
The unusual home-away arrangement will also be visible during the pre-match toss.
As Afghanistan are officially the home team, their captain Ibrahim Zadran will walk out for the toss and flip the coin. India captain Shreyas Iyer, meanwhile, will call heads or tails.
The toss therefore follows the official status of the series rather than the location where the match is being played. Even with the game taking place in Delhi, Afghanistan will enjoy the formal privileges associated with being the designated hosts.
India to use visitors’ dressing room
The distinction will extend beyond the toss and into the stadium itself.
The Arun Jaitley Stadium has separate dressing rooms for the home and visiting teams. Afghanistan will use the home dressing room during the series, while India will occupy the visitors’ dressing room.
The arrangement underlines the official classification of the fixtures. For players and teams, the physical location remains Delhi, but Afghanistan’s status as hosts determines how the matchday facilities are assigned.
The series also provides the Afghanistan Cricket Board with an opportunity to generate revenue from broadcast rights, ticket sales and in-stadium commercial rights while staging what is effectively a “home away from home” series in India.
For both teams, the three T20Is also form part of their preparations for the 2026 Asian Games. The Delhi series therefore combines Afghanistan’s need to stage international home fixtures outside the country with both sides’ preparations for the upcoming multi-sport event.
While spectators in Delhi will see India playing at one of the country’s familiar international venues, the official records and matchday protocol will recognise Afghanistan as the home side throughout the series.
The result is an unusual situation in which India will play in familiar surroundings but enter the contest as the visiting team — a first of its kind in Indian cricket according to the supplied report.
