Why There is No Indian Umpire in AFG vs IND T20I Series 2026? Reason Revealed

The preparations are completed for the high-profile T20I series between Afghanistan and India, which will be played at Delhi's Arun Jaitley Stadium. The match officials for the series have also been announced by the hosts, Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB).

The AFG vs IND match official list includes one match referee and four umpires. Surprisingly, all the umpires of this series are from Afghanistan and there was no Indian in this list. This has surprised a few Indian fans who were hoping to see atleast one Indian umpire.

Why No Indian Umpire in AFG vs IND T20I Series?

The AFG vs IND series 2026 does not have any Indian umpire as Afghanistan is hosting it. Despite the series being held in India, Afghanistan are the official hosts. All the umpires for this series have been nominated by the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB).

Ahmad Shah Pakteen, Ahmad Shah Durrani, Izatullah Safi, Farooq Khan, and Mahmood Kharoti have been appointed as the umpires for the three match T20I series between Afghanistan and India.

According to the ICC rules and regulations, the host board can use the home umpires and local officials for a bilateral white-ball series (ODIs and T20Is). This is different from Tests, where a neutral umpiring panel is mandatory.

There is no Indian umpire in IND vs AFG T20 series due to the conflict of interest. Since India is the opposition, there were chances of a conflict of interest or bias towards them. All these reasons prevented the appointment of Indian umpires in this panel.

Great Opportunity For Afghan Umpires

The IND vs AFG T20I series is a historic one as it celebrates friendship between two of the best cricket teams in the world right now. India are likely to get huge support despite Afghanistan being the official hosts.

Afghanistan have several umpires in the ICC International Panel. However, there is no Afghan umpire in the ICC elite list so far. This series will be a great opportunity for all these umpires to officiate on such a big occasion.

After this series, India and Afghanistan cricket teams will fly to Japan for the upcoming Asian Games. There remains a possibility of these two teams facing each other in case they go further.