{
  "id": 7118366,
  "title": "Why India are playing as 'away' team in Delhi for Afghanistan T20I series: Explained",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/13/why-india-are-playing-as-away-team-in-delhi-for-afghanistan-t20i",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-09-13T14:44:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Yahoo Sports",
    "slug": "yahoo-sports",
    "url": "https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/why-india-playing-away-team-144400269.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "India kicks off their three-match T20I series against Afghanistan with the inaugural game at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on Sunday. Despite the matches being hosted in India, Afghanistan is the official home side for the series. The Afghanistan Cricket Board will host all three T20Is at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, with the subsequent two encounters also scheduled at the same venue. Both teams are employing the series as a preparatory opportunity for the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya.\n\nIndia will assume the role of the visiting team, playing as the away side, since Afghanistan serves as the designated hosts of the series. For security reasons, Afghanistan is unable to host international matches within their own nation; hence, they compete at home in India or the UAE. This marks Afghanistan's first encounter with India on Indian soil, and it will also be a first for Indian cricket, as it will be the first time they will play a home match without being the home team. In the 94-year history of Indian cricket, this unique situation has never transpired before.\n\nAs the home side, Afghanistan captain Ibrahim Zadran will toss the coin to commence the match, while India captain Shreyas Iyer will decide whether to call heads or tails. The Arun Jaitley Stadium features separate dressing rooms for the home and visiting teams. For this series, Afghanistan will utilize the home dressing room, while India will occupy the visitors' dressing room. The series not only offers Afghanistan a chance to earn revenue from broadcast rights, ticket sales, and in-stadium commercial rights through a \"home away from home\" series in India, but it also provides the Afghanistan Cricket Board with an additional avenue for financial gain.",
  "summary": "The Afghanistan Cricket Board is hosting all three T20Is in Delhi, with the remaining two matches also scheduled at the same venue.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 6,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "The Indian Express",
        "title": "India vs Afghanistan Live Cricket Score, 1st T20I: Toss and playing XI coming from New Delhi",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/13/india-vs-afghanistan-live-cricket-score-1st-t20i-toss-and-playing-xi",
        "published": "2026-09-13T11:17:14.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Yahoo Sports",
        "title": "India vs Afghanistan 1st T20I 2026 live score, toss winner, winning probability, result and highlights from Delhi",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/13/india-vs-afghanistan-1st-t20i-2026-live-score-toss-winner-winning",
        "published": "2026-09-13T13:43:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "ESPNcricinfo",
        "title": "Abhishek lights up Delhi as India cruise past Afghanistan",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/13/abhishek-lights-up-delhi-as-india-cruise-past-afghanistan",
        "published": "2026-09-13T17:35:19.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Times of India",
        "title": "Abhishek, Arshdeep shine as India beat Afghanistan by 7 wickets in 1st T20I",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/13/abhishek-arshdeep-shine-as-india-beat-afghanistan-by-7-wickets-in-1st",
        "published": "2026-09-13T17:37:01.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Winnipeg Free Press",
        "title": "Easy win for India over Afghanistan with 38 balls left in first T20 cricket match",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/13/easy-win-for-india-over-afghanistan-with-38-balls-left-in-first-t20",
        "published": "2026-09-13T18:18:38.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}