The first T20I between Afghanistan and India, scheduled for September 13, 2026 at Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi, is likely to be postponed due to security concerns linked to the BRICS Summit being held in the capital from September 11 to 13.
The Deputy Commissioner of Delhi Police has written an official letter to the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) requesting that the match be rescheduled to a different date. The BRICS Summit will require multiple VVIP routes across Delhi during that window, creating significant security constraints for the city’s law enforcement agencies.
The match is expected to draw between 20,000 and 25,000 spectators, which would further complicate the security arrangements already stretched by the summit. Delhi Police cited the difficulty of simultaneously managing summit security and a large-scale cricket event of this magnitude at Arun Jaitley Stadium. As of September 10, 2026, final confirmation of the postponement is still awaited from the BCCI and the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB).
Harshit Rana out of Afghanistan T20Is and Asian Games
What is the full schedule for the Afghanistan vs India T20I series?
The BCCI and the ACB jointly agreed to a three-match T20I series to be played entirely at Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi. The three matches were originally scheduled for September 13, September 15 and September 17, 2026.
It remains unclear at this stage whether only the first match will be affected or whether the entire series schedule will need to be revised. No alternative date has been announced for the first T20I as yet, and the BCCI and the ACB are yet to issue a formal statement on whether the match will be moved.
India are led by Shreyas Iyer in this series, with Tilak Varma as vice-captain. The squad also includes Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Axar Patel, Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Sanju Samson, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Shivam Dube, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar and Harshit Rana.
Afghanistan will be captained by Ibrahim Zadran and their squad features Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Naveen-ul-Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Azmatullah Omarzai, Gulbadin Naib, Darwish Rasooli, Nangeyalia Kharote, Noor ul Rahman, Sediqullah Atal and Abdollah Ahmadzai.
Why are security concerns affecting the New Delhi match?
The BRICS Summit is scheduled to take place in New Delhi from September 11 to 13, 2026, the same window as the first T20I. The summit will involve multiple VVIP movements across the city, requiring a large deployment of security personnel and the establishment of restricted routes throughout the capital.
Delhi Police communicated these constraints directly to the DDCA through an official letter, making clear that managing summit security alongside a cricket event expected to attract tens of thousands of fans to Arun Jaitley Stadium would place an unsustainable burden on available resources.
Fans and both boards are awaiting an official decision on the revised schedule. Should the first match be moved, it remains to be seen whether the September 15 and September 17 fixtures will also require adjustment or whether the series can proceed with only the opening game rescheduled.
