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Afghani cricketers including star Adelaide Striker spinner Rashid Khan could miss the BBL finals due to national commitments.
The world's top-ranked Twenty20 bowler Rashid Khan and other Afghans could miss a chunk of the BBL, including finals, because of national commitments.
Afghanistan cricket says a three-match 50-over series against Ireland will be played in Abu Dhabi from January 18.
The series falls in the middle of the BBL tournament featuring Afghanis Rashid (Adelaide Strikers), Mujeeb Ur Rahman (Brisbane Heat), Mohammad Nabi (Melbourne Renegades) and Zahir Khan (Melbourne Stars).
That quartet have signed for the entire BBL while countryman Noor Ahmad (Melbourne Renegades) has committed for just the opening phase of the Australian T20 competition.
The Afghanistan-Ireland series is scheduled to finish on January 23.
The Afghani BBL quartet would have to undergo a 14-day quarantine period on return to Australia, ruling them out of the BBL finals slated for January 29 to February 6.
The Adelaide Strikers say they're awaiting official confirmation of the Afghan-Ireland series before considering the status of Rashid, the star spinner who tops the world's T20 bowling rankings.
Rashid, Mujeeb and Nabi, key players in Afghanistan's short-format sides, could potentially request not to play the Afghanistan-Ireland series but the series offers crucial points in the qualification process for the 2023 World Cup.
