Taskin set to return for Bangladesh’s first ODI in 2016

Match facts

September 25, 2016 Start time 1430 local (0830GMT)

Big Picture

Bangladesh and Afghanistan head into the first of three ODIs in Mirpur with different objectives. Afghanistan,playing in their first-ever bilateral series against Bangladesh, will be eager to extend their good form across formats in 2016 – they have won 14 out of 23 matches this year. With a young squad that has a number of senior players making way, they would want to more than just compete.

Bangladesh haven’t played international cricket since the World T20 in March-April. Their last ODI came more than 10 months ago. Considering they did so well in ODIs in 2015 – they qualified for the World Cup quarter-finals apart from series wins at home against Pakistan, India, South Africa and Zimbabwe – the forced rest is seen as a setback within the cricketing circles at home.

Their landmark maiden series wins against three big sides may have brought about hope of playing more regularly, but opportunities have been far and few. Even their last ‘A’ tour came about more than a year ago, in India. Therefore, this series is important to identify their combinations ahead of the bigger challenge against England at home.

For starters, they will welcome the return of fast bowler Taskin Ahmed, whose bowling action has been cleared by the ICC.With not much international exposure, the other players have largely been busy with domestic competitions like the Dhaka Premier League, where the likes of Shakib Al Hasan, Mahmudullah, Mashrafe Mortaza and Tamim Iqbal performed well. They have also tried to replicate top-level scenarios in several practice matches, but shedding rust is a major worry for the team management, which has also been revamped with the addition of former West Indies captain Courtney Walsh (bowling coach) and former Sri Lanka batsman …

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