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The two sides’ recent performances differ significantly.
Afghanistan enters this series having defeated South Africa in their first bilateral ODI series. They were in Sharjah, one of their unofficial home grounds, in September.
Bangladesh is extremely unconfident following their recent home defeats to South Africa, where they were soundly defeated in both Test matches in Dhaka and Chattogram.
Bangladesh will play ODIs in Sharjah for the first time in 29 years, following the 1995 Asia Cup, whereas Afghanistan is used to the city. Additionally, they have played three Twenty20 Internationals at the location, the most recent being a seven-wicket loss to Afghanistan in the 2022 Asia Cup.
Afghanistan has replaced the injured Ibrahim Zadran (ankle) and Mujeeb Ur Rahman (hand) with opening batsman Sediqullah Atal and left-arm wristspinner Noor Ahmad.
When Atal scored three fast fifties to finish as the top scorer at the recent Asia Cup for Emerging Teams, he attracted a lot of attention. At the recent tournament for the emerging squad, Bilal Sami, a 20-year-old fast bowler without any caps, made good use of the short ball against Sri Lanka A.
There are also well-known faces to be cautious of. Noor just won Player of the Tournament after taking 22 wickets in the CPL. Fazalhaq Farooqi is a standout batsman who took eight wickets in three games during the two teams’ most recent bilateral ODI series last year.
Additionally, Bangladesh will benefit from watching as much video of 18-year-old offspinner AM Ghazanfar, who performed well in the next competition and took some wickets against South Africa.
Bangladesh had to make a number of changes to their ODI team from March, when they last played the format, due to form, availability, and fitness concerns. Litton Das has a fever, Tanzim Hasan has a shoulder problem, and Shakib Al Hasan has apparently decided not to play in the Afghanistan series.
Nahid Rana is one of the players that will be given a chance, along with Zakir Hasan and Nasum Ahmed. With Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, and Shoriful Islam present, the fast-bowling attack appears to be strong. Nasum and Nahid, meanwhile, are unable to attend the first ODI since they are still awaiting their UAE visa.