Australia will play Afghanistan for the first time in a one-day international cricket match, next month in the Middle East.

The game will serve as a warm-up for Australia’s series against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates, which precedes the World Twenty20 tournament in Sri Lanka in September-October.

The venue and date is yet to be finalised for the one-off ODI, which Cricket Australia say will be scheduled to allow the national team to acclimatise before three ODIs and three T20s against Pakistan in August.

“Everyone in world cricket have been really impressed with how cricket has flourished in Afghanistan, despite its pressing national problems,” CA chief executive James Sutherland said in a statement.

Afghanistan became an ICC affiliate member in 2001 and a national team was formed in the same year, when US-led forces invaded the country to oust the Islamist Taliban regime.