||Desk Report||

Bangladesh are facing Afghanistan for the second time in this Asia Cup. Unlike the previous face-off, this clash will decide which team between the two will stay alive in the tournament, as both of them have been defeated in their respective first Super Four clashes.

Winning the toss, Bangladesh opted to bat first at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.

The two sides have faced each other on six occasions in the 50-over format, with each winning thrice.

Afghanistan are currently at the third position in the points table after losing a close contest against Pakistan on September 21.

On the other hand, fourth-placed Bangladesh’s batting performance have reached a nadir with in-form opener Tamim Iqbal ruled out of the tournament due to an injury.

After failing to score past 175 runs in back-to-back matches, Bangladesh opted for two opening batsmen as replacements in their Asia Cup squad. According to the captain, one of the newly added batsmen, Imrul Kayes, has been included in the team. So, Soumya Sarkar has not found a place in the starting eleven.

 

Bangladesh: Liton Das, Nazmul Hossain Shanto, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim(w), Mohammad Mithun, Mahmudullah, Mosaddek Hossain, Mashrafe Mortaza(c), Mehidy Hasan, Mustafizur Rahman, Rubel Hossain, Ariful Haque, Nazmul Islam, Abu Hider Rony, Mominul Haque, Soumya Sarkar, Imrul Kayes

Afghanistan: Mohammad Shahzad(w), Ihsanullah Janat, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Asghar Afghan(c), Mohammad Nabi, Najibullah Zadran, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan, Aftab Alam, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Javed Ahmadi, Samiullah Shenwari, Munir Ahmad, Sayed Shirzad, Sharafuddin Ashraf