Bangladesh players have been urged to forget Afghanistan’s mystery side and focus on their strengths for the one-off Test starting on Wednesday. Coach Chandika Hathurusingha admitted that he has little knowledge of most of the Afghan players, but if they stick to their process, it shouldn’t be a problem.
“Normally we focus 25% on the opposition’s strengths and weaknesses and 75% on what we do,” Hathurusingha said. “But as it stands, we don’t know much about them so we can’t control it.”
Afghanistan played their last Test against Zimbabwe in 2021 and only four players are left from that team. Rested celebrated leg-spinner Rashid Khan, who took 11 wickets in the win against Zimbabwe and 11 wickets in Afghanistan’s last Test against Bangladesh in 2019.
Bangladesh have their own fitness problems. Captain Shakib Al Hasan is ruled out with a finger injury, opener Tamim Iqbal is complaining of a backache and fast bowler Taskin Ahmed is waiting to be fit.
Hathurusinha was unfazed by those problems in the middle of the monsoon season, saying he would aim to continue the aggressive mindset he showed in his only second Test against Ireland in April this year. Bangladesh scored above 4.5 runs an over and won by seven wickets in Mirpur.
Since this one-off test was not part of the new World Test Championship cycle, they would experiment, Hathurusinha said. “Before that Ireland series, we wanted to play a certain brand of cricket regardless of the result. So, yes, our end goal is to get results, but we wanted to understand how our skills stack up over five days in different situations that challenge us to play a certain way.
“When we want to get some points in the Test Championship, we can tactically do something different, but this game is giving us a chance to play on a sporting wicket.”
Stand-in captain Liton Das said his experience gives him an edge over the Afghans.
Bangladesh is training closely#bcb , #Cricket , #BANvAFG pic.twitter.com/YUdcu1nkYh– Bangladesh Cricket (@BCBtigers) June 13, 2023
Here are the complete details about Bangladesh vs Afghanistan Only Test…
When will the Bangladesh vs Afghanistan only test be played?
The Bangladesh vs Afghanistan Only Test begins on Wednesday, June 14.
What time does the Bangladesh vs Afghanistan Only Test start?
The Bangladesh vs Afghanistan One-off Test Day 1 will begin at 930 AM IST.
Where will the Bangladesh vs Afghanistan Only Test be played?
The Bangladesh vs Afghanistan only Test will take place at the Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur.
Will Bangladesh vs Afghanistan Only Test be available live on TV in India?
The Bangladesh vs Afghanistan Only Test will not be available live on TV channels in India.
How can I watch live streaming of Bangladesh vs Afghanistan Only Test in India?
The Bangladesh vs Afghanistan Only Test will be available on the Fancode website and app.
Bangladesh vs Afghanistan only Test Prediction 11
Bangladesh: Liton Das (c), Anamul Haque, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Mahmudullah, Afif Hossain, Mehdi Hasan Miraj, Hasan Mahmood, Mustafizur Rahman, Ebadot Hossain
Afghanistan: Hashmatullah Shahidi (Captain), Ibrahim Zadran, Noor Ali Zadran, Karim Janat, Azmatullah Umarzai, Mohammad Ibrahim, Afsar Zazai (WK), Ameer Hamza, Zaheer Khan, Yamin Ahmadzai, Zia-ur-Rehman Akbar