Asia Cup 2022: Bangladesh vs Afghanistan Predicted Playing 11

Asia Cup 2022: Bangladesh vs Afghanistan Predicted Playing 11

The third game of the Asia Cup 2022  looms, with a riveting weekend of cricket unfolding already in the tournament.

Bangladesh vs Afghanistan promises to offer more of the same fast-paced action, as the two fight to secure a position in the Super Four phase of the Asia Cup.

With Afghanistan opening their campaign in emphatic style over Sri Lanka, winning by eight wickets with 59 balls remaining, a win against Bangladesh would see them claim one of the two Super Four positions available from Group Two. Bangladesh, on the other hand, will be looking to capitalize on Sri Lanka’s loss, and see themselves with one foot in the next phase by putting in a good performance against Afghanistan.

Heading into such an importance game, here's how we see the playing 11s shaping up for each team.

Recommended: Detailed Head to Head Stats of Bangladesh vs Afghanistan

Afghanistan’s Predicted Playing 11 for Bangladesh vs Afghanistan 

Coming off an impressive win over Sri Lanka, there’s little reason for Afghanistan to tinker with their run on team. 

We expect Mohammad Nabi to name an unchanged playing 11 for Tuesday’s match.

Opening Batters:Hazratullah Zazai and Rahmanullah Gurbaz

Afghanistan couldn’t have been more pleased with their opening batters over the weekend.

Hazratullah Zazai and Rahmanullah Gurbaz raced to 83/0 off 5.6 overs, demolishing Sri Lanka’s total inside the powerplay. Not only did this performance mean Afghanistan secured an all important win, but the manner in which they won means that this victory alone may be enough to see them through to the Super Four.

Zazai remained not out in the chase, carving 37 off 28, with five fours and a six. The burly opening batter was largely playing second fiddle to Gurbaz however, who played like another Baz, slapping 40 off 18. With four sixes, Gurbaz ended up caught by Dhananjaya de Silva for a strike rate of 222, when the damage was done.

Expect these two to front again for Afghanistan against Sri Lanka.

Middle Order: Ibrahim Zadran, Najibullah Zadran, Karim Janat and Mohammad Nabi

Little was required from Afghanistan’s middle order against Sri Lanka, so Tuesday’s game could be the first we see from many of these players.

Ibrahim Zadran was unlucky to be run out off a deflection over the weekend, having scored 15 from 13 in their first match, while Najibullah Zadran was not out on 2 off 2. Ibrahim is relatively new to the side, having only played nine matches for 120 runs at T20I level, but will be given another chance against Sri Lanka; Najibullah, on the other hand, is one of Afghanistan’s more experienced batters, bringing real depth to the middle order with 79 T20Is and 1489 runs to his name.

The two will likely be joined by allrounders Karim Janat and captain Mohammad Nabi. 

Janat was not required with the ball against Sri Lanka, despite having 31 T20I wickets to his name from 35 innings. He did score 159 runs at an average of 31.80 and strike rate of 138.26 last season however, and will be looking to make a similar contribution with the bat against Bangladesh. Nabi, on the other hand, is the No.1 T20I allrounder, with immense experience across his 89 T20Is—1653 runs at a strike rate of 141.52, plus 82 wickets at an economy of 7.24.

Bowlers: Rashid Khan, Azmatullah Omarzai, Naveen-ul-Haq, Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Fazalhaq Farooqi

Perhaps the biggest win from Afghanistan’s perspective over the weekend was that they took ten wickets, restricting Sri Lanka to 105, and yet Rashid Khan remained wicketless.

For a bowling unit that at times has revolved around their spinning superstar, this was a pleasing all-round effort, that they’ll be looking to build on throughout the Asia Cup. Farooqi was the pick of the bunch, with 11/3 off 3.4—an economy of 3.00, the same as Khan’s. Nabi and Rahman both picked up a pair, while Naveen-ul-Haq claimed the last. 

Only Azmatullah Omarzai failed with the ball, having 20 scored off his only over—there is a chance he’d lose his spot to Fareed Ahmad, but expect Afghanistan to give him another chance against Bangladesh. 

Afghanistan will be eager to see their bowling unit put in another impressive performance, and won’t want to tinker with what worked.

Afghanistan predicted playing 11

Hazratullah Zazai, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Najibullah Zadran, Karim Janat, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Azmatullah Omarzai, Naveen-ul-Haq, Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Fazalhaq Farooqi.

Bangladesh Predicted Playing 11 for Bangladesh vs Afghanistan

Bangladesh, on the other hand, are yet to play their first Asia Cup match, and so do not have such recent match play to base their selections on.

With several injuries since naming their original Asia Cup squad, and coming off the back of some internal upheaval and poor performances, Bangladesh will be desperate to see their playing 11 put in a good shift against Afghanistan. 

Here’s how we see them lining up:

Opening Batters: Sabbir Rahman and Anamul Haque

After falling out of favour with the selectors for almost seven years, Anamul Haque is back in the Bangladeshi squad and likely to open the batting alongside Sabbir Rahman. 

Haque has a meagre 85 T20I runs this season at an average of 14.16, but does have over 1000 ODI runs to his name, and is coming off a score of 76 in his latest outing against Zimbabwe. Rahman has the best part of 1000 T20I runs on the other hand, though he hasn’t played a T20I since 2019. 

However, Rahman has showed good domestic form, and courtesy of injuries in the Bangladeshi set up, expect him to make a comeback to the international form of the game on Tuesday. He’ll be looking to rekindle his hot form from 2016 that saw him score over half of his international runs in one season.

Middle Order: Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah, Afif Hossain and Shakib Al Hasan

The bulk of Bangladesh’s batting power and experience sits in their middle order, and it is here they’ll be looking for a strong performance against Afghanistan.

Playing his 101st T20I, Rahim has 1495 runs to his name in this format, at a strike rate of 115.44. This will only be his second cap for Bangladesh in T20Is this year, but brings significant experience to the middle order. Mahmudullah adds to this, with his 2000+ T20I runs across the last 15 years for Bangladesh. Last year alone Mahmudullah scored 496 runs, but will be looking to improve his strike rate of 105.30.

Afif Hossain and Shakib Al Hasan round out the middle order, with the latter the No.2 ranked T20I all-rounder in the world. Al Hasan will look to contribute on both fronts for Bangladesh, as he’s in good form, having taken 25 wickets and scored 327 runs last year. 

Bowlers: Mosaddek Hossain, Mahedi Hasan, Mustafizur Rahman, Taskin Ahmed, Mohammad Saifuddin 

Having put together some patchy performances so far this year, Bangladesh will be looking for some consistency from their bowling unit.

Mohammad Saifuddin, Mustafizur Rahman and Taskin Ahmed spear head the pace attack, with the ability to take wickets and bowl economical yorkers between the three of them. Saifuddin impressed last year with 17 wickets from 14 innings, and is likely to play his first T20I of the year on Tuesday. 

Mustafizur is the veteran pace bowler, while Taskin Ahmed will be searching for his first wicket of the year as he looks to solidify his place in the T20I side after being in-and-out since 2014.

Spinners Mosaddek Hossain and Mahedi Hasan round out the attack, with Hossain’s off-break already producing eight wickets from five matches this season. Hasan is the more experienced spinner, and comes off a strong 2021 where he picked up 23 wickets at an economy of 6.49.

Bangladesh predicted playing 11

Sabbir Rahman, Anamul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah, Afif Hossain, Shakib Al Hasan, Mosaddek Hossain, Mahedi Hasan, Mustafizur Rahman, Taskin Ahmed and Mohammad Saifuddin.

Also Read: Bangladesh vs Afghanistan Match Prediction