Shakib Al Hasan Elect To Field First In Dharamsala; Both Teams Play On Strengths

Bangladesh and Afghanistan are all set to open their ICC World Cup 2023 campaign at Dharamsala on Saturday. The Tigers' skipper Shakib Al Hasan won the toss and elected to bowl first, hoping his bowlers can use the lateral movement offered in the morning.

For justify their decision, Shakib and Bangladesh are three potent faster-bowlers in the form of  Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, and Mustafizur Rahman. Meanwhile, the captain, Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Mahmudullah Riyad will offer the spin options.

Whereas, Litton Das, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Mushfiqur Rahim and Towhid Hridoy would look to solidify the batting. 

Afghanistan, on the other hand, are playing on the strengths, featuring three world-class spinners, i.e. Rashid Khan, Mujeeb ur Rahman and Mohammad Rahman. Interestingly, Naveen ul Haq and Fazalhaq Farooqi will handle their pace attack for the today.

As mentioned at the toss by Hashmatullah Shahidi, the Afghanistan players have the experience of playing in IPL under their belt, and in India at their home grounds - Noida and Dehradun. 

Hashmatullah Shahidi (Afghanistan Captain): "Yes, we are very excited for it. This time, we are more confident as we are well-prepared and have quality players on our side. That's what we are looking forward to as well. We will look to keep the Bangladesh's batters under pressure."

Shakib Al Hasan (Bangladesh Captain): "We will field first. Generally, a ground where chasing is the way to go and there will be help for the pacers as well. So, excited about the game ahead and honoured to play my 5th World Cup and leading Bangladesh is an honour. The guys are excited and we have to take one game at a time. We have the team to reach the semis but we have to take one game at a time and live in the present. It's a good blend of youth and experience for us." 

BAN vs AFG: Playing XIs

Afghanistan Playing XI : Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Mohammad Nabi, Najibullah Zadran, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Naveen ul Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi

Bangladesh Playing XI : Litton Das, Tanzid Hasan, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Shakib Al Hasan (c), Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Towhid Hridoy, Mahmudullah Riyad, Taskin Ahmed, Mohammad Shoriful Islam, Mustafizur Rahman