Get ready for an epic showdown! Check out our Cricket Match Preview of Bangladesh vs Afghanistan, featuring key players and predictions.
Afghanistan vs Bangladesh Preview
Afghanistan came up against Bangladesh in match three of the ICC Men’s World Cup in Dharamsala on the 7th of October.
Both teams qualified for the CWC without having to go through the CWC qualifying tournament held in Zimbabwe.
Afghanistan played in three ODI series in 2023 against Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh in Bangladesh, and Pakistan in Sri Lanka. They lost the Sri Lanka series 2-1, won the Bangladesh series 2-1 and lost the Pakistan series 3-0. They also have just played in the Asia Cup, where they only played two matches, and both were losses to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
Bangladesh played in two ODI series in 2023 against Ireland in England and Afghanistan in Bangladesh. They won the Ireland series 2-0 and lost the Afghanistan series 2-1. They also have just played in the Asia Cup, where they won two of their five games. The wins came against Afghanistan and India. The losses were to Pakistan and Sri Lanka twice.
Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium & Pitch Information
HPCA Stadium has previously hosted four ODIs. Three of these have been won by the chasing team with an average of 215 runs being scored in the first innings across these matches. The pitch is likely going to assist the pace bowlers throughout the power play, and we might just see a few early wickets. In the three matches won by the chasing team, the team batting first all lost three wickets inside the first ten overs.
I think this could be a very even contest and the coin toss could be crucial. Teams that have won the toss have preferred to bowl first as this pitch has shown that putting up a large total can be very difficult.
Afghanistan vs Bangladesh predicted XIs
Afghanistan: Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Mohammad Nabi, Najibullah Zadran, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Naveen-ul-Haq, Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Fazalhaq Farooqi
Bangladesh: Tanzid Hasan, Litton Das, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Shakib Al Hasan, Towhid Hridoy, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Nasum Ahmed/Mahedi Hasan, Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam and Hasan Mahmud
Who to play in your GDS starting XI
Batters
The three batters that I’m likely going to start will be Najmul Hossain Shanto, Ibrahim Zadran, and Hashmatullah Shahidi. Over the last ten matches these players average the following points based on the GDS scoring.
Najmul Hossain Shanto – 74 points
Ibrahim Zadran – 48 points
Hashmatullah Shahidi – 30 points
To be honest, I don’t really like any of the batter options for this match but if I had to pick one it would be Najmul Hossain Shanto. Over his last nine matches he has scored two 100s, two 50s, two 30+ scores, three scores between 1-12. However, I will likely only start him if Bangladesh are batting second. I will only be starting Ibrahim Zadran and Hashmatullah Shahidi if I really must. Zadran may provide some upside if Afghanistan are batting second.
Today we have four teams to select our batters from as South Africa and Sri Lanka are also playing. I’m likely going to be targeting the batters from those two teams, especially if Bangladesh end up batting first.
If you don’t have these three players in your squad, I have ranked the remaining batters for Afghanistan vs Bangladesh in the following order. Towhid Hridoy, Tanzid Hasan and Najibullah Zadran.
All-Rounders
The four all-rounders that I’m likely going to start will be Shakib Al Hasan, Mohammad Nabi, Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Azmatullah Omarzai. Over the last ten matches these players average the following points based on the GDS scoring.
Shakib Al Hasan – 88 points
Mohammad Nabi – 60 points
Mehidy Hasan Miraz – 63 points
Azmatullah Omarzai – 43 points
I think picking the starting all-rounders is the hardest part of setting your squad for this match. I tend to favour all-rounders that bowl more as they generally score higher due to dot balls being worth one point in GDS. Shakib Al Hasan is easily my top all-rounder for this match. Over his last ten ODIs he has two 50s, two 30+ scores, six scores between 3-26, bowled 77.3 overs, taken 7 wickets and averages 3.5 dot balls an over. After Shakib Al Hasan I lean towards Mohammad Nabi as my second favourite all-rounder over Mehidy Hasan Miraz. I think Nabi offers a higher ceiling as he’s likely to bowl more overs and bat higher up the order. Azmatullah Omarzai just edges out Mahedi Hasan due to Hasan being bracketed with another player to start in the predicted starting XIs.
If you don’t have these four players in your squad, I have ranked the remaining all-rounders for Afghanistan vs Bangladesh in the following order. Mahedi Hasan and Rahmat Shah.
Bowlers
The three bowlers that I’m likely going to start will be Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam and Rashid Khan. Over the last ten matches these players average the following points based on the GDS scoring.
Taskin Ahmed – 94 points
Shoriful Islam – 71 points
Rashid Khan – 67 points
We have some very great bowlers to choose from in this match and I’ll be targeting the pace bowlers of the team bowling first. It would be great to see Bangladesh bowl first as Taskin Ahmed and Shoriful Islam will likely be locks for me even taking the South Africa and Sri Lanka bowlers into consideration. Rashid Khan would be my third starter as he usually bowls his full complement of overs. Fazalhaq Farooqi would be my pick of the Afghanistan quicks and might edge out Islam if Afghanistan bowl first.
If you don’t have these three players in your squad, I have ranked the remaining bowlers for Afghanistan vs Bangladesh in the following order. Fazalhaq Farooqi, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Hasan Mahmud and Naveen-ul-Haq.
Wicket Keeper
We have the option of either Rahmanullah Gurbaz or Mushfiqur Rahim to start in our squad for this match. Over the last ten matches, these players average the following points based on the GDS scoring.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz – 52 points
Mushfiqur Rahim – 48 points
I’m favouring Rahmanullah Gurbaz as my starting keeper, solely because he opens the batting and Mushfiqur Rahim bats in the middle order. However, I may change my mind if Bangladesh bowl first. However, Quinton de Kock will be my starting keeper as South Africa and Sri Lanka play later today.
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