Afghanistan became the fifth team to feature in an expanded Asia Cup after they were invited by the Asian Cricket Council to take part in this year’s tournament in Bangladesh.

This was decided by the ACC Executive Board at its meeting in Colombo, where they also confirmed that Bangladesh will remain the hosts despite the recent spate of violence there, and that STAR India will be the given the broadcast and grounds rights of the tournament.

Afghanistan will now join Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka and will be participating in a major ODI tournament for the first time.

It gives them an opportunity to get some much needed experience ahead of their World T20 and 2015 World Cup participation.

A total of 11 matches will be played with the opening game on February 25 and the final is scheduled on March 8.

Speaking to the media, after its meeting, Asian Cricket Council (ACC) chief executive Ashraful Huq said: “The tournament will go ahead as scheduled in Bangladesh from February 25 and Afghanistan will be added as the fifth team.

“Everything is in place for the tournament, no one raised any issue about safety.”

Huq said the Bangladesh Cricket Board had made a detailed security presentation at the meeting.

All 11 matches will take place in capital Dhaka, despite violence in the build-up to general elections claiming more than 140 lives since late October.