Afghanistan's Cricket Board Chief Executive Shafiq Stanikzai said Afghanistan deserves full membership of the International Cricket Council (ICC) after becoming an Associates powerhouse and that all eyes will be on next month's ICC meeting in Dubai.

In an interview with CricBuzz on Friday, Stanikzai said: "We would be the most frustrated nation if we don't get full membership," he said.

"Hopefully it happens soon because we are ready and we are playing better than some of the other (full member) countries.

"We can't do much more on-and-off the field, so we deserve some recognition," he added.

According to Cricbuzz, Afghanistan could become a Test nation if they win the ICC Intercontinental Cup, which it narrowly leads over Ireland.

The winner of the Cup will play the 10th-ranked Test nation (currently Zimbabwe) in a four-Test series in 2018 in a bid to become the 11th Test nation until 2022.

In March, Afghanistan will play Ireland in what shapes as essentially the final of the Cup in Noida, which has become their adopted home base as international teams still refuse to tour Afghanistan due to safety concerns.

Last December, they moved from Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates to Noida after signing a Memorandum of Understanding.

Stanikzai said Afghanistan was "happy" with its home base but other options could be explored in the future.

"We are happy to be based in Noida as India is the home of cricket," he said.

"There are great facilities in Noida and it is such a big market, with vast media opportunities. The timeframe to be based there is not specific, so we are not sure about the longer-term. UAE and Malaysia, who we recently chatted to, could be options down the track."

Stanizai's interview comes ahead of a crux ICC meeting next month to continue ongoing discussions over a proposed shakeup of Test cricket into a two-division league system.

The proposed system would comprise seven teams in the top tier and five in the bottom.

Currently Test matches count towards world rankings but there is no overall league structure.

Cricket chiefs in Australia, New Zealand, England and South Africa are supporting the proposal, believing a revamp would revitalize the Test format amid dwindling crowd numbers worldwide. But the cricket boards of Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and, most recently, India have been vocal of their opposition, reports CricBuzz.

Afghanistan is ranked in the top 10 in both One Day Internationals (ODIs) and Twenty20.

Stanikzai said he hoped to have discussions with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) at some stage before the ICC's meeting.

"It is disappointing, India's stance, but it is totally their decision and we hope (the proposal) still gets passed," he told Cricbuzz.

"We haven't had meetings with the BCCI but are hoping to soon, perhaps after the T20 series (between India against the West Indies in Florida). It (the Test revamp) is looking unlikely (to proceed) but we hope to have discussions with India and see what eventuates from there."