Just a couple of days ago, Bangladesh suffered a loss in the Emerging Asia Cup to Afghanistan’s Sadiqullah Atal, who played a match-winning unbeaten knock of 95 runs off 55 balls, snatching victory from the hands of Hridoy and Akbar’s team. Now, Afghanistan is coming to Bangladesh with that destructive batter in their squad.
Afghanistan has announced their squad for the three-match ODI series against Bangladesh, scheduled to take place in the UAE starting from November 6. The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) revealed a 19-member squad today (Tuesday) for the series.
Sadiqullah Atal has earned his place in the squad as a reward for his outstanding performance in the ongoing Emerging Asia Cup. Besides his knock against Bangladesh, he also scored 83 off 46 balls against Sri Lanka and 52 off 41 balls against Hong Kong in the tournament.
Although Sadiqullah had previously been included in Afghanistan’s squad, he hasn’t yet made his debut, but the chances seem strong this time. Emerging Asia Cup captain Darwish Rasooli and pacer Bilal Sami are also awaiting their debuts.
However, top-order batter Ibrahim Zadran and spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman are absent from the Bangladesh series due to injuries. Spinner Noor Ahmad has returned to the squad, and Hashmatullah Shahidi will continue as captain.
Under Shahidi’s recent leadership, Afghanistan secured a 2-1 series win against a strong South Africa side, making this upcoming series a tough challenge for Bangladesh.
The first ODI will take place on November 6, followed by the second on November 9. After a day’s break, the third and final ODI will be held. All matches will be played at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium in the UAE.
Afghanistan Squad: Hashmatullah Shahidi (captain), Rahmat Shah, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ikram Alikhil, Abdul Malik, Riaz Hassan, Sadiqullah Atal, Darwish Rasooli, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan, Nangial Kharoti, Mujeeb Gzanfar, Noor Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Bilal Sami, Naveed Zadran, and Fareed Ahmad Malik.
