Bangladesh to face Afghanistan in Sharjah

Even though Afghanistan defeating Sri Lanka wasn't really surprising, not many anticipated a hammering. The manner in which Afghanistan dominated both with the bat and the ball once again showcased that they are indeed a huge force to reckon with in the shortest format. At one stage, Sri Lanka were 75/9 with Rashid Khan not even picking up a single wicket. And again with the bat, the openers put on a breathtaking display scoring over 80 runs in the powerplay to kill the chase.

That performance would have definitely turned many heads not only from India and Pakistan but also from Bangladesh. In an ideal world, Bangladesh should have been favourites heading into a T20I against Afghanistan. But despite their success in the ODI format, Bangladesh just haven't been able to crack the T20 code and as a result have seen Afghanistan usurp them in this format, reports cricbuzz.

The onus is definitely on the senior pros like Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah to try and make a statement. For Bangladesh to put up a fight in Australia later this year, something has to change dramatically over the next two months, starting from Tuesday (August 30). For starters, their batting order needs to bat with plenty of freedom. While the Afghanistan batting lineup has plenty of flair, Bangladesh lack it big time. In the bowling department, they do have the likes of Mustafizur Rahman and Shakib Al Hasan to bank on but striking early against this lineup will be the key.

Team

Bangladesh

While the team management was contemplating opening with Mushfiqur at one stage, it looks like that experiment is shelved for now as they opted to include Mohammad Naim and Anamul Haque in the squad. Sabbir Rahman is all set to make his return as the team's designated finisher.

Probable XI: Mohammad Naim, Anamul Haque, Shakib Al Hasan (C), Afif Hossain, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Mahmudullah, Sabbir Rahman, Mahedi Hasan, Mohammad Saifuddin, Nasum Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman

Afghanistan

After the victory over Sri Lanka, Afghanistan have no reason to change their XI.

Probable XI: Hazratullah Zazai, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Najibullah Zadran, Karim Janat, Mohammad Nabi (C), Rashid Khan, Azmatullah Omarzai, Naveen-ul-Haq, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazalhaq Farooqi