The Ireland cricket team toured the United Arab Emirates in January 2021 to play three One Day International (ODI) matches against Afghanistan.

[9] The start of the series was moved back three days from the original schedule,[10] due to the visa issues and a ten-day quarantine period in place in the UAE.

[12] In the second match, Rahmat Shah scored a century, with Afghanistan winning by seven wickets to take an unassailable lead in the series.

[18] Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi and Mujeeb Ur Rahman were all playing in the Big Bash League in Australia, before leaving the tournament to join the rest of the Afghanistan squad.

[21] Ahead of the ODI series, the two teams played in unofficial warm-up match, with Afghanistan winning by 23 runs.