Afghanistan will host Bangladesh in three ODIs this week in Sharjah. This is the beginning of the two teams’ preparatory journey for the Champions Cup early next year. Here are some things we’ll be watching.
Afghanistan Advantage in Sharjah
There is a big difference in the final shape of the two sides.
Afghanistan enters this series on the back of their first bilateral ODI series win over South Africa. It was September, and they were in Sharjah, one of their unofficial homes.
Bangladesh are suffering from a major lack of confidence after recent results against South Africa at home, losing both Tests – in Dhaka and Chattogram – quite convincingly.
While Afghanistan are familiar with the Sharjah encounter, Bangladesh will be playing international matches there for the first time in 29 years, after the 1995 Asia Cup. They have also played three T20I matches at the stadium, the last of which was a seven-wicket defeat to Afghanistan in the 2022 Asia Cup.
First look at Siddiqullah Atal and Bilal Sami from Bangladesh
Afghanistan brought in opener Siddiqullah Atal and left-arm pacer Noor Ahmed in place of injured duo Ibrahim Zadran (ankle) and Mujibur Rahman (hand). Atal attracted a lot of attention at the recent Asian Cup for Emerging Teams. He hit three fast fifties to take first place on the scorers list. There is also 20-year-old fast bowler Bilal Sami, who used the short ball effectively against Sri Lanka A in the recent junior national team tournament. There are familiar faces to watch out for too. Noor recently took 22 wickets in the Premier League to finish as the tournament’s leading spinner. There is star fast Fazlul Haq Farooqui, who rocked them in the recent bilateral ODI series between the two sides last year, taking eight wickets in three matches. It would also be good for Bangladesh to see as much footage of 18-year-old AM player Ghazanfar who was among the wickets against South Africa and also performed well in the emerging tournament.
Nahid Rana gets a chance in ODIs
Form, availability and fitness issues forced Bangladesh to make several changes to the ODI squad played in March, the last time they played this format. Shakib Al Hasan has reportedly withdrawn from the Afghanistan series, Liton Das is suffering from a fever and Tanzeem Hasan is absent due to a shoulder injury.
One of the players who will be given a look is Nahid Rana, with Zakir Hasan and Nasoom Ahmed also in attendance. With Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman and Shuriful Islam also on board, it is a fast-looking bowling attack. However, Nasoum and Nahid are still waiting for an entry visa to the UAE and are not available for their first international match. Rana quickly joined the national team and made a huge impression when he played a key role in Bangladesh’s Test series win in Pakistan in August. . There haven’t been many of them over the years – a proper Bangladeshi fast bowler. Sharjah may not be the best place to play quickly, but Rana will be one to watch out for, especially to see how he fares in the new format.
Can Bangladesh ignore its off-field issues?
While Afghanistan had a straightforward lead-up to the ODI conference series, the situation is very different for Bangladesh. Najm Hussain Shanto is the captain, but there is still no proper clarity on his status after he informed BCB that he wants the Test series against South Africa to be his last as captain.
There was also all the confusion about the coach. Chandika Hathurusinghe was first suspended and then sacked within two days, with Phil Simmons joining the team in between. All the while, there was the fiasco around Shakib’s Test retirement, which was followed by the all-rounder being unable to travel to Bangladesh for the South Africa series due to concerns about his security.
Bangladesh has found it difficult to leave everything behind, at least on the evidence provided by the South African series of events, but they must move forward. The more the better. It’s best to start with this series.
