Bangladesh-Afghanistan lone Test match begins today

Sports Reporter  :
Bangladesh National Cricket team will take on Afghanistan Cricket team in their lone Test match at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in the city’s Mirpur which begins today. The first day match will start at 10.00am (Bangladesh Standard Time). Private satellite channel GTV and private satellite sports channel T Sports will telecast the match live from the arena.
Before this Test match, Bangladesh faced Afghanistan in a Test match at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram in September, 2019. Favourites Bangladesh tasted a 224-run defeat in that match.
Bangladesh will play the lone Test match without their regular Captain Shakib Al Hasan. Shakib cannot take part in the lone Test match due to injury. Dashing opener Tamim Iqbal is uncertain for the lone Test match as the experienced opener has been suffering from back pain for some days.
Wicketkeeper-batter Litton Das will lead the Tigers against Afghanistan.

On the other hand, Afghanistan will play against Bangladesh in the one-off Test without their key player wizard spinner Rashid Khan. Hashmatullah Shahidi will lead Afghanistan in the lone Test match against Bangladesh.
It may be mentioned that the final of the ICC World Test Championship 2022-2023 was held between Australia and India at The Oval in London recently. Australia emerged the champions in the competition defeating India in the final.

The lone Test match between Bangladesh and Afghanistan is not a part of ICC World Test Championship.
Head Coach of Bangladesh Cricket team Chandika Hathurusingha said, ” ICC World Test Championship is not a prime factor. My boys are going to play a Test match for their country and it is a vital matter. To play in the Test match for Bangladesh is really an important thing. To play for their country in Test cricket, it means they are representing their country in the best format of cricket. It is not necessary to give inspiration to my boys to play in the Test match. They will play for their country and it is enough. If anybody needs inspiration, he is in a wrong position.”

The Sri Lankan-born Coach said, ” To play Test cricket is above of any format of cricket. As a batter and as a bowler, everybody will face mental strength, performance and skill in a Test match.”
Head Coach of Afghanistan Cricket team Jonathan Trott said, ” Some teams play aggressive cricket and some teams play defensive cricket. After a long 27-month gap, my boys will play Test match. So, we have to decide newly which kind of technique we shall play against Bangladesh. It is a tough task for my team to play without our key player Rashid Khan. We shall miss him. To play against Bangladesh is a tough task for any country. My boys are prepared to face Bangladesh. They will try to present their best capability.”

Squads:
Bangladesh : Litton Das (Captain), Tamim Iqbal, Zakir Hasan, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shahadat Hossain, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taijul Islam, Khaled Ahmed, Ebadot Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, Mahmudul Hasan and Mushfik Hasan.
Afghanistan: Hashmatullah Shahidi (Captain), Rahmat Shah, Afsar Zazai, Ikram Alikhail, Ibrahim Zadran, Abdul Malik, Baheer Shah, Nasir Jamal, Karim Janat, Zahir Khan, Izharulhaq Naweed, Hamza Hotak, Ibrahim Abdulrahimzai, Yamin Ahmadzai and Nijat Masoud.