DUBAI: The International Cricket Council (ICC) today announced that it has included Afghanistan and Ireland into the category of full test-playing nations.

The decision was announced in the ICC conference where the two nations received the backing of the world cricket body.

According to an ICC official, Afghanistan and Ireland have joined the elite Test group that is permitted to play traditional five-day Test matches.

This is an attempt from ICC to increase the popularity of the longest format of the game.

Earlier ICC had a plan to introduce a two-division format in Tests that will include teams like Afghanistan, Ireland, Scotland, Hong Kong etc, but that plan has taken a back step now.

Ireland have had international exposure in recent times with teams touring and playing ODIs on their soil.

Afghanistan too have shown signs of improvement in a short period of time. They were the only ones who were able to beat West Indies in ICC T20 World Cup 2016.

This move from ICC is expected to have a major impact on the performance of these two nations.