Saif, Bashir on ODI Debuts as Bangladesh Bat First Against Afghanistan

Kharote and Ghazanfar return to Afghanistan's ODI squad, while Nurul earns an ODI recall for Bangladesh after almost two years.

Bangladesh skipper Mehidy Hasan Miraz has elected to bat first against Afghanistan in the opening One-Day International on Wednesday in Abu Dhabi. Teams that bat first in day-night matches have won four of the past five ODIs at the Zayed Stadium.

This is Afghanistan's first One-Day International since February, when they competed in the Champions Trophy. They haven't played much cricket since. They participated in the T20I tri-series with Pakistan and the UAE before the Asia Cup, followed by the T20Is against Bangladesh, which they lost 3-0.

Afghanistan's starting XI has seen three changes from their last ODI. They have added left-arm spinner Nangeyalia Kharote and mystery spinner AM Ghazanfar, as well as left-arm quick Bashir Ahmad, who will make his ODI debut. They are without Gulbadin Naib, Noor Ahmad, and Fazalhaq Farooqi, who were dropped from their ODI squad for this series.

Bangladesh has Saif Hassan, while Nurul Hasan returns to the ODIs after two years. They did not choose Shamim Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Rishad Hossain, or Nahid Rana.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh has requested that Parvez Hossain remain in Abu Dhabi, despite the fact that he is not yet formally part of the ODI team. Parvez serves as a backup for Mohammad Naim, who remains unable to leave Dhaka due to visa complications in the UAE.

Afghanistan: 1 Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), 2 Ibrahim Zadran, 3 Sediqullah Atal, 4 Rahmat Shah, 5 Hashmatullah Shahidi (capt), 6 Azmatullah Omarzai, 7 Mohammad Nabi, 8 Rashid Khan, 9 Nangeyalia Kharote, 10 AM Ghazanfar, 11 Bashir Ahmad.

Bangladesh: 1 Tanzid Hasan, 2 Najmul Hossain Shanto, 3 Saif Hassan, 4 Towhid Hridoy, 5 Mehidy Hasan Miraz(c), 6 Nurul Hasan, 7 Jaker Ali (wk), 8 Taskin Ahmed, 9 Hasan Mahmud, 10 Tanvir Islam, 11 Tanzim Hasan.