Hashmatullah Shahidi, the captain of Afghanistan, didn’t want to wonder too much about the hosts’ pedigree and supported his team, underscoring their will to win.
The 50-over format is Bangladesh’s best suit, and this is backed up by their winning % in ODIs. However, Bangladesh’s dominance in this format is backed up by their winning percentage in ODIs.
The first one-day international encounter of the three-match series will get off tomorrow at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram. This match will mark the beginning of Afghanistan’s white-ball campaign within the Tigers’ lair.
When asked if he thinks Bangladesh is the favorite to win the series considering the Tigers’ recent form in one-day internationals, Shahidi said, “We also came here to play cricket and win games.” It is not about them in any way. Yes, it is true that they have played fantastic cricket; but, the reason we are here is also to play good cricket. Additionally, the last two years have been quite successful for us.
The hosts have trounced Afghanistan in recent battles, winning four out of the previous five matches, including a 2-1 series triumph in Chattogram last year. In addition, the hosts won all of the recent matches against Afghanistan. They further improved their head-to-head record by winning the only test match by 546 runs that took place a month ago.
However, Shahidi and his team have won 12 of the 18 ODIs that have been played since 2021. Furthermore, they have been successful in defeating Sri Lanka twice in the last seven months; this record will assist to strengthen their confidence.
“Yeah. due to the fact that we didn’t play any Test cricket for almost two years and a half. During the match, many of our key players, including Rashid Khan, sustained injuries. Both Fazal Haq and Azmat were unable to participate in the event. He got an injury to the groin area. So there was the piece that was lacking.
“We have been playing One-Day Internationals for a considerable amount of time, and we have been doing quite well, particularly over the last two years. We assembled the squad, and we continue to work on it and become better with each game that we play. Therefore, our squad is stronger when it comes to ODIs,” he said.