Saif primed for debut as Afghanistan and Bangladesh do rare ODI battle
Bangladesh, who swept Afghanistan 3-0 in the T20I series, will go into the ODI series high on confidence
Mohammad Isam
07-Oct-2025 • 22 hrs ago
Saif Hassan's ODI debut is a much-anticipated event in Bangladesh cricket • Getty Images
Big picture: a rare ODI face-off after deluge of T20Is
Bangladesh and Afghanistan will have to fight the same adversary in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday: rustiness.
Afghanistan last played an ODI eight months ago, in the 2025 Champions Trophy, and even that game was washed out, so they have played just two ODIs this year. Bangladesh have played six, but the last one was in July. Not as bad as their opponents, of course, but they have lost four of these games and won just one.
This irregularity in playing ODIs affects how the XIs are chosen.
Afghanistan have dropped Fazalhaq Farooqi, Gulbadin Naib and Noor Ahmad based on their Asia Cup - in the T20 format - performance. Hashmatullah Shahidi continues to lead, with Rahmat Shah, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran and Sediqullah Atal forming the batting core.
Azmatullah Omarzai is their ODI star with bat and ball, so he will have to shoulder a significant workload. Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi will lead the bowling attack, alongside newcomers like Bashir Ahmad and Abdollah Ahmadzai, who made their T20I debuts earlier this week.
Bangladesh, meanwhile, have a squad that's based on their big-picture plan for the 2027 ODI World Cup. It means Mehidy Hasan Miraz continues as captain, with Najmul Hossain Shanto back in the picture. There will be hope that some of the batters bring their T20I form into the ODI arena. Tanzid Hasan and Saif Hassan looked good in the recent 3-0 win against Afghanistan and will be relied upon.
The battle will be between Towhid Hridoy, Jaker Ali, Shamim Hossain and Nurul Hasan for the three middle-order spots. Taskin Ahmed and Mustafizur Rahman will lead the bowling attack, while it will be interesting to see whether Rishad Hossain and Tanvir Islam are both picked in the XI or not.
Bangladesh would like to ride on the momentum of the T20I series sweep, while Afghanistan must get out of their five-match losing streak across formats. It is likely to be a closely fought series, but the rustiness could mean a lot of errors - in the planning and in the field - as they go adjusting to the format.
Form guide
Afghanistan WLWWW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Bangladesh LWLLL
Bangladesh LWLLL
In the spotlight: Azmatullah Omarzai and Saif Hassan
Azmatullah Omarzai has scored 896 runs and taken 31 wickets in the last two years in ODIs. No wonder he is currently No. 2 in the allrounders rankings. Omarzai will bat in the lower-middle order to provide cushion as well the finishing touches, and also play as the second seamer. He was one of the few to show good form in the T20Is against Bangladesh, although he would be disappointed with the way he got out in the third game in Sharjah, a wild swing that ended in a top edge that was taken by the backward point fielder.
Saif Hassan will be the most anticipated ODI debutant for Bangladesh in a long time. His scintillating form in T20Is in the last two months has forced the selectors to bring him into an ODI set-up that's crying out for a fresh approach. Saif's attacking shots are great to watch, but as he showed in the third T20I on Sunday, he can also be clever: he played out a maiden over from Rashid Khan knowing it was the legspinner's last and went on to score an unbeaten 38-ball 64 to take Bangladesh home.
Team news: middle-order changes in the offing
Darwish Rasooli is likely to get into the XI while either Nangeyalia Kharote and AM Ghazanfar is expected to join the attack. Bashir could make his ODI debut.
Afghanistan (probable): 1 Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), 2 Ibrahim Zadran, 3 Sediqullah Atal, 4 Rahmat Shah, 5 Hashmatullah Shahidi (capt), 6 Darwish Rasooli, 7 Azmatullah Omarzai, 8 Mohammad Nabi, 9 Rashid Khan, 10 Nangeyalia Kharote, 11 Bashir Ahmad
Saif is likely to open the innings with Tanzid, while Nurul will fight for a place with Hridoy.
Bangladesh (probable): 1 Tanzid Hasan, 2 Saif Hassan, 3 Najmul Hossain Shanto, 4 Towhid Hridoy, 5 Mehidy Hasan Miraz (capt), 6 Shamim Hossain, 7 Jaker Ali (wk), 8 Tanzim Hasan Sakib, 9 Taskin Ahmed, 10 Tanvir Islam, 11 Mustafizur Rahman
Pitch and conditions: bat first, win the game?
The side batting first has won four out of the last five day-night ODIs at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium. The average score batting first in these matches is 274. The forecast in Abu Dhabi is of extreme heat, with some breeze expected in the evening.
Stats and trivia
- Afghanistan and Bangladesh are tied 2-2 in the bilateral series stakes, although it's the latter that leads 11-8 overall
- Nabi is the only survivor of the first ODI between Bangladesh and Afghanistan, held in 2014 in Fatullah
- Tanvir Islam's five-wicket haul against Sri Lanka in Bangladesh's previous ODI series was the first five-for by a Bangladeshi spinner in two-and-a-half years.
Mohammad Isam is ESPNcricinfo's Bangladesh correspondent. @isam84