Jaker debuts as Bangladesh opt to bat first in 2nd ODI

Bangladesh Captain Najmul Hossain Shanto opted to bat first after winning the toss in the second ODI against Afghanistan at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium today. The match turned out to be a ‘do or die’ game for Bangladesh following their 92-run defeat in the three-match series opening game.

Bangladesh made two changes in a bid to level the series and one change was expected after Mushfiqur Rahim was ruled out due to a finger injury, sustained during the first game. Later, the management handed Jaker Ali Anik an ODI cap to replace Mushfiqur Rahim. “Unfortunately Mushfiqur Rahim is unavailable (due to his injury),” Shanto told the broadcaster after the toss.

Left-arm spinner Nasum Ahmed, who was not available for selection in the first game due to his late arrival in Sharjah following visa complicacy, made a comeback to the ODI fold after one year. Nasum who played his last ODI during the 2023 ODI World Cup in India replaced leg-spinner Rishad Hossain. “Rishad missed out while Nasum is in. Hopefully we’ll show better performance,” Shanto added. 

Afghanistan, which are eying to clinch the series with a match to spare, stayed unchanged from the first game. If Afghanistan take an unassailable 2-0 lead, this will be their second straight bilateral ODI series victory against Bangladesh, having previously won a series on Bangladesh’s backyard in 2022.

Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi, however, wants to wrap up Bangladesh within 240 to give them a chance to win the game. “Restricting them to 240 will be good. Hopefully our top order will do better than the last game,” Shahidi said.  “Ghazanfar (who took six wickets in first game to derail Bangladesh) is a great talent for us. He played the U19s and he was with me for the domestic games as well.”

Line Ups:

Bangladesh: Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Soumya Sarkar, Najmul Hossain Shanto (Capt), Towhid Hridoy, Mahmudullah, Jaker Ali (wk), Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Nasum Ahmed, Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, Mustafizur Rahman

Afghanistan: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Sediqullah Atal, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (capt), Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan, AM Ghazanfar, Nangeyalia Kharote, Fazalhaq Farooqi.