The Tigers of Bangladesh have arrived in Chattogram ahead of the three-match One-Day International series against Afghanistan. This comes on the heels of a record victory in the solitary Test match between the two teams. Bangladesh will be seeking to duplicate their great run in the forthcoming white-ball matches against Afghanistan.
After arriving in Bangladesh the previous day, Hashmatullah Shahidi and his army have now made it to the port city. As a result of the comeback of great cricketers such as Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, and Mohammad Nabi, it is anticipated that the away team would put up a spirited challenge with a squad that is at full strength.
In preparation for the first one-day international, which will take place on July 5, some Bangladesh players participated in training yesterday, while Afghanistan players will get back to work today. The second and third one-day international matches will both be played at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury stadium on July 8 and 11, respectively.
In light of the fact that Bangladesh will open their campaign for the ICC One-Day International World Cup against Afghanistan in Dharamsala later this year, the forthcoming ODI series has emerged as a wonderful platform for the Tigers to prepare for the major event and sketch out their strategy in advance of it.
It is anticipated that the one-day international series against Afghanistan and the next Asia Cup would be the final two series played before the World Cup. The selector Habibul Bashar believes that it will be essential for the Tigers to keep the momentum on their side before moving out to the huge event.
“I believe that the significance of the forthcoming series, as well as the Asia Cup, is how we will acquire the momentum before moving out to the World Cup. Because we are familiar with the format of the event, in which every squad will compete against the other teams in the field, it is essential for our group to be in excellent shape as a unit. Bashar said to The Daily Star the day before that “Obviously, we will have our own game plan, taking into consideration the opponent.”
The former team captain claims that there is not much room for the Tigers to make significant adjustments as a squad in order to adapt to the conditions in India, which are quite comparable to those in Bangladesh.
In the meanwhile, Bashar has stated that the next series against Afghanistan will not be all that important in terms of selection for the 2018 World Cup. This is due to the fact that there is not much room for adjustment in the team.
However, there will be eyes on the likes of Naim Sheikh and Afif Hossain who made a return in the ODI side for the Afghanistan series. It will be vital for them to demonstrate their value and become strong competitors to make it to the final World Cup squad. Naim Sheikh and Afif Hossain both made their comebacks in the ODI side for the Afghanistan series.
If you look at the team as a whole, we don’t see that there are a lot of spots where we can make adjustments, nor do we see that there is room for significant changes. There are perhaps one or two more areas in which we might offer our concluding thoughts. On the other hand, it’s not likely that the forthcoming match against Afghanistan or the Asia Cup will have a significant impact on it.”
It is obvious that the squad will be strengthened by the return of renowned all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan once he has recovered from an injury to one of his fingers. However, the recurring injury issue of captain Tamim Iqbal will also remain significant from Bangladesh’s point of view, and the team management will undoubtedly want the captain to lead from the front both on the field and off the field.