After Pakistan, Afghanistan Denied By West Indies In Massive Blow Before 2027 World Cup

Afghanistan players during a fixture. Source- AFPCricket Windies Indies is down in the dumps because of its poor finances. With their national men's team not doing well at the highest level, they have even failed to make it to the ICC events multiple times in the recent past. Earlier this month, the board had to cancel its domestic competitions, and now it is set to make more changes that will further disrupt its cricketing calendar and also impact Afghanistan. CWI postpones WI vs AFG multi-format seriesAccording to top journalist Santokie Nagulendran, the all-format series between West Indies and Afghanistan, scheduled for the Caribbean in January 2027, has been postponed indefinitely. As scheduled in the FTP 2023/27, the two nations were scheduled to face off in a historic one-off Test, three ODIs and as many T20Is. Notably, Afghanistan are yet to play a Test match against the Windies.Read More: "Once-In-A-Lifetime Player": Fans Goes Berserk As Virat Kohli Unleashes Beast Mode Vs West IndiesThis multi-format series could have been a massive boost for both teams' preparations ahead of the next ODI World Cup, scheduled for late 2027. Although West Indies haven't directly qualified for the ICC event, they can still reach the 14-team tournament.Moreover, Pakistan Cricket Board has decided to deny NOCs to all its national players for the upcoming Afghanistan Premier League (APL 2026) season. What is the reason behind WI vs AFG cancellation?Notably, the WI vs AFG multi-format series would have directly clashed with some of the major franchise leagues such as the Big Bash League, SA20 and the ILT20. After Shai Hope’s signing by Hobart Hurricanes for BBL 2026/27, a debate started in the West Indies circles over whether the board would go forward with the series against Afghanistan, which would directly clash with the Australian T20 league. With almost every top-tier West Indies cricketer playing in those leagues, a multi-format against Afghanistan would not only have pushed CWI to field lesser-known players but also dented the board’s pockets. Due to financial constraints, CWI suspended two major domestic tournamentsIt is worth mentioning that CWI has recently suspended two of its biggest domestic tournaments, i.e. the Super50 tournament and the women's T20 Blaze, due to the financial constraints. This decision came to light after CEO Chris Dehring revealed that, over the last 15 years, the board nearly had to put $80 million out of its own pockets to get the two domestic tournaments off the ground, with little support from sponsorship. “Our domestic tournaments as structured historically, where Cricket West Indies bears the entire cost of every national team and tournament - whether it is age-group, development or senior for both men and women,” Chris Dehring had told Cricinfo. Thus, they replaced them with new invitational tournaments the qualify for the men's and women's events at the 2028 LA Olympics.Additionally, all West Indies contracted players have faced a 25% cut in their annual retainer fees.Read More: Zimbabwe Refuses To Set Foot In Pakistan, Ireland Tri Series On Verge Of Cancellation