New Delhi: For the first time in its cricket history, Afghanistan is going to host India in an international series this year. But the venue of the event will be the national capital of India. TOI has learned that Afghanistan are planning to host three T20 matches against India at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in September.An official announcement is awaited, but the matches are scheduled to be played on 13, 16 and 19 September. Afghanistan are touring India for a one-off Test and three ODIs starting on June 6. TOI understands that the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) hasbcci) for the return visit. “BCCI and ACB have good relations. BCCI is helping other boards like Ireland, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe and sending Indian teams to play series there to boost the financial condition of those boards. An understanding has been reached between BCCI and ACB in this regard. An official announcement will be made after some modalities are completed,” a BCCI source told TOI.“The BCCI brokered an agreement between the ACB and the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) for the availability of a home base for Afghanistan for the series. The DDCA is also scheduling its Delhi Premier League T20 accordingly,” the source said.Due to persistent geopolitical issues in Afghanistan, Afghanistan has been playing its home games in India and UAE for the last decade. Earlier, Afghanistan hosted Ireland in a series in Greater Noida in 2017 before hosting Bangladesh for a T20I series in Dehradun in 2018. They then shifted their base to UAE ahead of the scheduled Test match against a full-strength New Zealand team in Greater Noida in September 2024. The match was abandoned without a single ball being bowled due to a poor outfield following rain two days before the Test. Afghanistan played their next home series in Sharjah.“The itinerary has been shared with India’s national selection committee as they have to pick a 15-member T20 squad for the Asian Games in late September. The cricket competition at the Asian Games is scheduled to begin on September 23. The selectors will select the team accordingly,” a BCCI source said.