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Under the pump, Bangladesh look to get some confidence back as they face a confident Afghanistan side in the first of the three ODIs that starts at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium in the UAE today. 

The Tigers have won the last three ODIs against Afghanistan in three different venues and series last year — in a bilateral series in Chattogram, in the Asia Cup in Lahore, and in the World Cup in Dharamsala. 

But the most recent results over that opposition might not be enough to give them the confidence they need, as they’ve come into the series with some heavy defeats under their belt. 

They lost all the matches against India in both Test and T20I series and were swept by an inexperienced South Africa in a two-Test series at home. 

On the other hand, Afghanistan’s most recent outings were against South Africa at the same venue where they clinched a historic 2-1 ODI series win. 

Sharjah is one of their adapted homes, and they are very much accustomed to the conditions as they’ve played 53 matches so far across the formats there. 

Though the hot and humid condition in Sharjah is nothing new for Bangladesh, the venue itself doesn’t present any happy memories for them. 

They are going to play an ODI there for the first time since 1995, with the most recent outing being a T20I in August 2022, where they lost to Afghanistan. They are yet to register their first victory there. 

The shorter ground poses some different challenges where you need to post a big score in the first innings. Since the start of 2022, the average winning score in the first innings of an ODI is 302.

Both sides are missing some key players. Bangladesh opener Liton Das is out with fever, while Shakib Al Hasan reportedly opted out of the series due to a lack of physical and mental fitness. 

Afghanistan will miss their regular opener Ibrahim Zardan, who is still recovering from an ankle surgery, while the mystery spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman is out due to a right phalanx (hand) sprain. 

Bangladesh have recalled opener Zakir Hasan and left-arm spinner Nasum Ahmed. New pace sensation Nahid Rana got a maiden call-up. 

But they might have to select an XI for the first game from only 13 players, as Nasum and Nahid were yet to get their visas. A BCB source told ¶¶Òõ¾«Æ· that there were no further developments while filing this report on Tuesday.

Afghanistan have brought in opener Sediqullah Atal, who has played six T20Is but yet to make his ODI debut. 

He was a star performer in the Asia Cup for emerging teams, where the Afghans were crowned champions. 

Left-arm wrist spinner Noor Ahmad also made a comeback after topping the wicket-taking chart in the CPL.

For Bangladesh, another key challenge will be to keep the focus on cricket, as some off-field issues have gripped them in recent times. 

Najmul Hossain Shanto will continue to lead the side, but for how long that is the question. He recently wished to quit, but whether he changed his mind and agreed to continue for a long term that BCB hasn’t made clear.