Afghanistan will host Bangladesh in three ODIs this week in Sharjah. This is the start of both teams' preparatory run to the Champions Trophy early next year. And here are some of the things we will be watching out for.
Advantage Afghanistan in Sharjah
There's considerable difference in the recent form of the two sides.
Afghanistan come into this series on the back of their first bilateral ODI series win over South Africa. That was in September, and in Sharjah, one of their unofficial home grounds.
Bangladesh are massively short of confidence after the recent results against South Africa at home, where they lost both Tests - in Dhaka and Chattogram - quite convincingly.
While Afghanistan are familiar with Sharjah, Bangladesh are going to play ODIs there for the first time in 29 years, after the 1995 Asia Cup. They have also played three T20Is at the venue, the last of which was a seven-wicket defeat against Afghanistan in the 2022 Asia Cup.
First look at Sediqullah Atal and Bilal Sami for Bangladesh
Afghanistan have brought in opening batter Sediqullah Atal and left-arm wristspinner Noor Ahmad in place of the injured pair of Ibrahim Zadran (ankle) and Mujeeb Ur Rahman (hand).
Atal grabbed a lot of attention at the recent Asia Cup for emerging teams, where he struck three quick fifties to finish as the highest scorer. There is also the 20-year-old uncapped fast bowler Bilal Sami, who used the short ball effectively against Sri Lanka A at the emerging team's tournament recently.
There are familiar faces to be wary of too. Noor recently took 22 wickets in the CPL to finish as the Player of the Tournament. There is star quick Fazalhaq Farooqi, who rocked them in the last bilateral ODI series between the two sides last year, picking up eight wickets in three games.
And Bangladesh will also do well to watch as much footage of 18-year-old offspinner AM Ghazanfar, who was among the wickets against South Africa and also did well in the emerging tournament.
Nahid Rana gets a go in ODIs
Form, availability and fitness issues have forced Bangladesh to make several changes to the ODI side that played in March, the last time they played the format. Shakib Al Hasan has reportedly opted out of the Afghanistan series, Litton Das is down with a fever, and Tanzim Hasan is out with a shoulder injury.
One of the players to get a look-in is Nahid Rana, with Zakir Hasan and Nasum Ahmed also coming in. With Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman and Shoriful Islam also around, it's a solid-looking fast-bowling attack. However, Nasum and Nahid are still awaiting their UAE visa, and are unavailable for the first ODI.
Rana was fast-tracked to the national team, and made a big impression when he played a major role in Bangladesh's Test series victory in Pakistan in August. There have not been too many of them over the years - a proper Bangladeshi fast bowler. Sharjah might not be the best place to bowl fast, but Rana will be one to watch out for, especially to see how he goes in a new format.
Can Bangladesh ignore their off-field issues?
While Afghanistan have had a straightforward lead-up to the ODI series, the situation is very different for Bangladesh. Najmul Hossain Shanto is captain, but there's still no proper clarity on his situation after he had informed the BCB that he wanted the Test series against South Africa to be his last as the captain.
There has also been all the confusion around the coach. Chandika Hathurusinghe was suspended first and then sacked in a couple of days, with Phil Simmons joining the team in between. All around the time the fiasco around Shakib's Test retirement was on, which was followed by the champion allrounder not being able to travel to Bangladesh for the South Africa series because of concerns around his security.
Bangladesh found it tough to put it all behind them, at least on the evidence of the South Africa series, but they have to move on. The sooner the better. Ideally starting with this series.