Sports Reporter :
Bangladesh Cricket team will take on Afghanistan Cricket team in the first One Day International (ODI) at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram today. The match will begin at 11.00am. The spectators will be allowed to watch the match after sitting the seat of the galleries. Private satellite channel GTV and private satellite sports channel T Sports will telecast the match live from the venue.
Before today’s match, Bangladesh faced Afghanistan in eight ODI matches. Of them, Bangladesh registered five victories, while Afghanistan won in the three occasions.
Members of Bangladesh team and members of Afghanistan team are now staying at Chattogram, the port city of the country. Both the teams took part in the practice session on Tuesday.
Apart from today’s match, Bangladesh and Afghanistan will play two more ODI matches. The ODI matches are the part of ICC ODI World Cup Super League. The winners of the each match will get 10 points.
Captain of Bangladesh team Tamim Iqbal said, ” We are not looking for whitewash. We want to play better brand of cricket tomorrow and also want to make a good finishing in the last ODI match against Afghanistan. We want to go forward step by step.”
Bangladesh team last played ODI in July of 2021. So, all the players are eager to play ODI match.
Tamim said, ” We don’t feel any challenge. Because most of the players of our team are experienced. I think we are good side for ODI matches. It is very important for us to back in the rhythm. We have to play as a team and we have to show perform well.”
Promising Karim Janat of Afghanistan team said, ” We have a good opportunity this time. I don’t say that we are favourites. But I expect that the match will be a fifty-fifty affairs. We have adapted with the wickets and conditions of here. So, it will give us advantage.
Meanwhile, The Bangladesh Cricket Board announced a 15-member ODI squad for the upcoming three-match ODI series against Afghanistan. The players are: Tamim Iqbal (Captain), Litton Das, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan, Mahmudullah, Afif Hossain, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Mustafizur Rahman, Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, Ebadot Hossain, Nasum Ahmed, Yasir Aliand and Mahmudul Hasan Joy.
On the other hand, Afghanistan Cricket Board announced a 16-member ODI squad for the upcoming Bangladesh ODI squad. The players are: Hashmatullah Shahidi (Captain), Rahmat Shah (Vice-Captain) ,Azmatullah Omarzai, Farid Malik, Fazal Haq Farooqi, Gulbadin Naib, Ibrahim Zadran, Ikram Alikhail, Mohammad Nabi, Mujib Ur Rahman, Najibullah Zadran, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Rashid Khan, Riaz Hassan, Shahidullah Kamal and Yamin Ahmadzai.
