Bangladesh calls up four uncapped players for ODIs against Afghanistan

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has announced a 15-member squad for the three-match ODI series against Afghanistan starting on February 23. The team, led by Tamim Iqbal, has four uncapped cricketers.

As a result of doing well in Test cricket, young batsman Mahmudul Hasan Joy has been called up to the ODI team after proving his ability in the current BPL. Right-arm pacer Ebadot Hossain has also been included in the squad for the first time. Besides, Nasum Ahmed and Yasir Ali are also not debuted.

Bangladesh played their last ODI in Zimbabwe in July last year. The ODI squad for that tour was made with 17 men. This time a team of 15 people has been created for the home series. 7 players have been dropped from the last team, and a total of 5 new players have been taken to replace them.

Mohammad Naim, Taijul Islam, Rubel Hossain, Mosaddek Hossain, Mohammad Saifuddin, Nurul Hasan, and Mohammad Mithun have been dropped from the squad, who were a part of the tour of Zimbabwe. The five who came in their places are Najmul Hossain Shanto, Ebadot Hossain, Nasum Ahmed, Yasir Ali, and Mahmudul Hasan Joy. Out of these five, only Najmul Hossain Shanto has made his ODI debut. The other four are yet to play an ODI game for the nation.

On the other hand, the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) announced the squads for both the ODI and T20I series yesterday. Usman Ghani has been dropped from the squad, he played in the last ODI series against the Netherlands. Mohammad Nabi and Ibrahim Zadran have returned to the team.

However, many changes have been made in the T20I squad. Asghar Afghan (retired), Gulbadin Naib, Mohammad Shahzad, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Hamid Hassan, and Naveen-ul-Haq have been left out from the last year’s T20 World Cup squad. They have been replaced by Darwish Rasooli, Azmatullah Omarzai, Afsar Zazai, Qais Ahmad, and Nijat Masood.

Mirwais Ashraf, the chairman of the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB), said that the series is being aimed at preparing young players for the upcoming T20 World Cup. After arriving in Bangladesh last Friday night, the Afghan team is now in Sylhet for a week-long conditioning camp.

ODI Squad:

Bangladesh – Tamim Iqbal (c), Najmul Hossain Shanto, Mushfiqur Rahim, Litton Das,  Shakib Al Hasan, Afif Hossain, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Mahmudullah, Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam, Ebadot Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Nasum Ahmed, Mahmudul Hasan Joy, and Yasir Ali.

Afghanistan – Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Rahmat Shah (vc), Ibrahim Zadran, Riaz Hassan, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Najibullah Zadran, Ikram Alikhil, Mohammad Nabi, Shahid Kamal, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Azmat Omarzai, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Farid Ahmad Malik and Yamin Ahmadzai.

Afghanistan Travelling reserves: Salim Safi and Qais Ahmad.

T20I Squad:

Bangladesh – TBA

Afghanistan – Mohammad Nabi (c), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Usman Ghani, Darwish Rasooli, Hazratullah Zazai, Najibullah Zadran, Karim Janat, Azmat Omarzai, Afsar Zazai, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Qais Ahmad, Rashid Khan, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Farid Ahmad Malik and Nijat Masood.

ODI & T20I match schedule for Bangladesh and Afghanistan:
1st ODI – 23 Feb, Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium (Chattogram), 11:00 (GMT +6)
2nd ODI – 25 Feb, Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium (Chattogram), 11:00 (GMT +6)
3rd ODI – 28 Feb, Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium (Chattogram), 11:00 (GMT +6)
1st T20I – 03 March, Shere Bangla National Stadium (Dhaka), 15:00 (GMT +6)
2nd T20I – 05 March, Shere Bangla National Stadium (Dhaka), 15:00 (GMT +6)