Tigers leave Dhaka for Afghanistan series

Dhaka, 2 Nov - A group of Bangladesh team left Dhaka today for the

United Arab Emirates (UAE) to play a three-match ODI series against
Afghanistan.

The group included the players like Soumya Sarkar, Jaker Ali Anik, Towhid Hriody, Rishad Hossain, Tanzid Hasan Tamim and others who basically were not the part of the recently concluded Test series against South Africa (SA).

The players who were the part of the Test series will leave country Sunday.

The Afghanistan series, which will be played on Afghan's adopted venue in the UAE, is seen as the preparation platform for the next year's ICC Champions Trophy.

This will be Bangladesh's first ODI series since March when they played against Sri Lanka at home.

After that Bangladesh only played T20 and Tests. While they had a horrible T20 campaign, things looked good when they won a historical Test series against Pakistan. But they were brought down to the earth again after their meek surrender to India and South Africa.

While Afghanistan of late had become a strong contender for the Tigers, Bangladesh still have the edge, winning 10 and losing six in 16 meetings between two teams in ODI format.

The three ODIs against Afghanistan will be on November 6, 9 and 11. All the matches will be held at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.

After this series, Bangladesh will visit West Indies for a full bilateral
series that includes all three formats of cricket.

Squad:

Soumya Sarkar, Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Zakir Hasan, Nazmul Hossain Shanto (Captain), Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah Riyad, Touhid Hridoy, Jaker Ali Anik, Mehidy Hassan Miraz (Vice Captain), Rishad Hossain, Nasum Ahmed, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam and Nahid Rana.