Bangladesh vs Afghanistan, Only Test, Chattogram: Preview, predictions, likely XIs

Afghanistan will play just their third Test ever when they take on Bangladesh in Chittagong on Thursday, September 5. However, unlike the last two times, when there was anticipation and excitement, there is less excitement, more caution ahead of this meeting. Much has changed since Asghar Afghan led the team to their maiden Test triumph against Ireland in March.

Since then, Afghanistan have had two Test captains, one, Rahmat Shah, who was removed without even being tried in the role in an actual match. They had a disastrous World Cup campaign, in which they went without victory in nine matches, and ended bottom of the table. And there has been a massive reshuffle thereafter.

It is what puts Rashid Khan at the helm, now. He is now captain across all three formats, and his first assignment will be against a Bangladesh side that has improved in the longer format over the last few years. It will be difficult, and Rashid will have to ensure the team stays together after all the flux, and that the departure of coach Phil Simmons in not-too-ideal circumstances won’t have an effect on the squad.

Rashid will also have to ensure his own form doesn’t suffer – when he stood in as captain for a few matches during the World Cup qualifiers in 2018, after Afghan was ruled out with sickness, his form suffered drastically as did the fortunes of the teams. The impression then was that he wasn’t ready to take up the challenge of captaincy. It’ll be intriguing to see if much has changed since then.

Bangladesh, meanwhile, will be licking their lips. They know Afghanistan are an inexperienced Test outfit in a state of flux, and will be keen to make it count, not least because there has, reportedly, been a fallout of their own within the team following Bangladesh’s sub-par performance at the World Cup.

If that is to have more of an effect on Bangladesh, Afghanistan might well be a banana peel, which would make this an interesting encounter, to say the least. Russell Domingo, the new Bangladesh coach, will be keen to avoid that.

Head to head

Bangladesh and Afghanistan have never clashed in a Test before. However, their clashes in ODIs and T20Is have been extremely interesting with both teams winning 6 matches each in 12 encounters. Will that competition carry on to the longest format?

Key players

Shakib Al Hasan (Bangladesh): The Bangladesh captain had interesting things to say recently, when he pointed fingers at ODI captain Mashrafe Mortaza and his poor form for the team’s failure at the World Cup. He also didn’t seem too keen to take on the captaincy role himself, but he remains Test captain, and under scrutiny. Time to put the money where the mouth is.

Rashid Khan (Afghanistan): Rashid, Afghanistan’s golden boy, has been charged with the responsibility of saving this team from a potentially dire situation. However, he hasn’t handled captaincy too well in the past. Can he provide enough evidence to turn that impression? Or will this prove too much of a task?

Likely XIs

Bangladesh: Soumya Sarkar, Shadman Islam, Mominul Haque, Mohammad Mithun, Shakib Al Hasan (c), Mahmudullah, Liton Das (wk), Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taijul Islam, Nayem Hassan, Ebadat Hossain

Afghanistan: Ishanullah Janat, Ibrahim Zadran, Javed Ahmadi, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Asghar Afghan, Mohammad Nabi, Ikram Ali Khil (wk), Afsar Zazai, Rashid Khan, Qais Ahmed

Prediction

Bangladesh to coast to victory.