Bangladesh look to fine tune themselves in Rahmat Shah's captaincy debut

Bangladesh tour of Afghanistan

It’s time for more Test cricket as this time Bangladesh & Afghanistan will lock horns at the Shaikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi starting this Friday. The Bangla Tigers have endured an up and down year so far. 2026 started through a full-blown political controversy with their neighbours India, which resulted in their government asking the national team to withdraw from the 2026 T20 World Cup at the last minute. The visitors enjoyed a solid run at home, losing only one series versus Australia having secured the ODIs versus Pakistan, New Zealand and the Aussies. A 2-0 whitewash of their arch-rivals Pakistan in the longest format was also sandwiched between these results. A tough away tour of Zimbabwe came next where they lost the one-off Test by an innings margin and then surrendered in the ODI series disappointingly, as their batters failed to adjust on a bouncy Harare track. A historic visit to Australia followed. Bangladesh won the opening contest in Darwin via a dominant display, thumping the home side by nine wickets in what was the first red-ball fixture in the country after 23 years. A Mitchell Starc special blew them away at Mackay with the visitors folding for minute scores 64 & 95 in both innings. Bangladesh again lost both their T20Is at Asian Games hosted by Japan and failed to win a medal in the process.

Both Afghanistan and Ireland rarely play the longest format. Logistic issues, financial difficulties, and their absence from the World Test Championship, ICC’s major tournament for the five-day format contributes to the same. However, unlike these two teams, Zimbabwe continues to prioritize Test cricket as evidenced by their International calendar last year, where they participated 10 games. Since their debut in Test cricket, Afghanistan and Ireland have appeared in a total of 13 matches, which is considerably lower than Zimbabwe, who have played 25 in the same time period. Among the WTC contenders, South Africa and Bangladesh with 54 and 55 respectively, lie at the bottom on this metric.

Afghanistan’s biggest win in this format came against their opponents seven years ago, when they stunned the neighboring country by 224 runs, thanks to Rashid Khan’s monumental effort. The Bangla Tigers bounced back with massive 546-run victory, four years later and this will be the third meeting between these two sides. The hosts have racked up four wins from 13 Test matches they have been a part of. Their winning percentage since debut is better than even West Indies albeit with a smaller sample size. Afghanistan started the year with a heart-breaking exit from the T20 World Cup 2026 Group Stage following a loss to South Africa over three Super Overs. They could not register a single victory against India across all three formats. A 4-0 ODI clean sweep in Ireland was their only positive result. A washout in the quarter-finals of the Asian Games saw them crash out on inferior ICC ranking rule.

Afghanistan will take inspiration from their 224-run win over Bangladesh in 2019

Afghanistan cricket board (ACB), appointed the 33-year old Rahmat Shah as their new Test and ODI captain in July this year, succeeding Hashmatullah Shahidi in both formats. Selectors have tried to ensure consistency from their previous squad while also rewarding the top performers from their recent First-Class tournament. They have rested Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran and Azmatullah Omarzai for this game. Shahidullah, who opened in the recent 4-day tournament and topped the run-charts, averaging 76.85 will for the top three with Abdul Malik and Sediqullah Atal. Captain Rahmat Shah and Hashmatullah Shahidi will form the middle order with one of either Afsar Zazai or Ikram Alikhil taking the wicket-keeping duties. Ismat Alam replaces Omarzai in the fast bowling all-rounder role. Mohammed Safi and Ziaur Rahman Sharifi keep their place while the 34-year old Yamin Ahmadzai makes a comeback after collecting 42 wickets at an astounding bowling average of 12.73 and a couple of 50s with the bat. Leg-spinners Qais Ahmed & Khalil Gurbaz will fight with Zia-ur-Rahman for the sole spinner’s spot.

The visitors were boosted by the news of their captain, Najmul Hossain Shanto being announced fit for this fixture. Opener Tanzid Hasan Tamim scored his maiden hundred in Australia and will partner Shadman Islam at the top. The middle order remains packed with the same personnel of skipper Shanto, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim and Litton Das. Soumya Sarkar is the backup opener whereas it will be interesting to see if Towhid Hridoy who broke the record of Bangladesh’s highest score in First -Class cricket with 350* versus South Africa A recently will be given a chance. The pair of Taijul Islam and Mehidy Hasan Miraz will have a role later in the contest. Tearaway pacer Nahid Rana is still recovering from a Grade 2 side strain and Taskin Ahmed has been rested. Hasan Mahmud and Khaled Ahmed had a fruitful stint with Kent in the recent County Championship and both will be vying for a place in the 11 to partner Shoriful Islam, who broke the record for the best bowling figures by a Bangladeshi pacer in Test cricket on the Australia tour. Edabot Hossain is the fourth pacer.

Afghanistan last hosted Ireland at Abu Dhabi in February 2024 at the Tolerance Oval. The previous Test match conducted at the Shaikh Zayed Stadium back in March 2021 when Afghanistan faced Zimbabwe in two-match series, which ended in a 1-1 draw. Teams winning the toss have preferred to bat first at this ground on 12 out of 15 occasions with 9 victories. The playing surface is expected to be a batter’s dream with early help available for the pacers. Spinners will come into the picture once the game moves ahead. The weather will remain in excess of 35°C and heat might pose a challenge the players on all five days. Both sides will then participate in an ODI tri-series involving Zimbabwe at Abu Dhabi and Sharjah. The hosts will further play The Chevrons for 3 T20Is and 2 Tests. Bangladesh on the other hand are looking to strengthen their spot in the WTC rankings, where they stand a plausible of reaching the finals and these additional opportunities will help them remain in shape for the Test series versus West Indies later this month. An all-format tour of South Afric awaits them next month which includes 2 Tests, 3 ODIs & 3 T20Is.

References: Statsguru by ESPNCricinfo

By Shekhar Tomar

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