Bangladesh sent to bat, Tamim plays, Afif returns

Afghanistan won the toss and opted to bowl first against Bangladesh in the first One-day International (ODI) of the three-match series at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram on Wednesday.

Bangladesh captain Tamim Iqbal had declared on Tuesday that he would play the first ODI despite not being fully fit. And the opener stayed true to his words as he came out for the coin toss alongside his Afghan counterpart Hashmatullah Shahidi.

Afif Hossain, who was dropped from the squad for the last two ODI series of the Tigers, returned to the XI as he will play the finisher’s role at No.7.

There were no surprises in the Bangladesh XI with Taskin Ahmed, Hasan Mahmud and Mustafizur Rahman forming a three-pronged pace attack and Mehidy Hasan Miraz selected as the second spin bowling option alongside Shakib Al Hasan.

Afghanistan, on the other hand, have picked a spin heavy attack with the two specialist spinners Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman and the experienced Mohammad Nabi.

Bangladesh: Tamim Iqbal (c), Liton Das, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Towhid Hridoy, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Afif Hossain, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Hasan Mahmud

Afghanistan: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Mohammad Nabi, Najibullah Zadran, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Saleem