Bangladesh openers and approach in focus against potent Afghanistan attack

Bangladesh and Afghanistan will play their last T20I series before entering an ODI extravaganza for the next few months. Both teams have the Asia Cup and World Cup in mind but these two matches in Sylhet could pose an interesting challenge for the two sides. The home side is itching to bounce back after going down in the ODIs earlier in the week, but Afghanistan are an even stronger force in T20Is and have the wood over Bangladesh in the format.

Bangladesh have had a great year so far in T20Is - winning five out of six games - so beating Afghanistan will be the icing on the cake. They won both series they have played this year, against England and Ireland, further improving their already strong home performance in T20Is, taking their win percentage up to 61.9% at home in the last three years.

They have adopted a new and bolder approach with big hitting throughout the batting order, which they have shortened to include extra bowlers. Mehidy Hasan Miraz bats at No. 7, which allows for him and Shakib Al Hasan to be the spinners, followed by a four-man pace attack. This year is so far Bangladesh's best in terms of team bowling average and strike rate.

A quick look at the Afghanistan squad makes it clear that they have loaded their side with big hitters. Mohammad Shahzad is back in national colours after almost two years, Hazratullah Zazai also returns after missing the T20Is against Pakistan, and Rahmanullah Gurbaz is in fine form after his 145 against Bangladesh in the second ODI last week.

They also have youngsters Sediqullah Atal, a left-hand batter who made his T20I debut recently against Pakistan, and Ibrahim Zadran in their batting stocks. Najibullah Zadran will be the finisher alongside allrounders Mohammad Nabi, Karim Janat and Azmatullah Omarzai. Captain Rashid Khan has young Noor Ahmad and the now-experienced Mujeeb Ur Rahman for company in the spin department.

Fazalhaq Farooqi will lead the pace attack alongside fellow left-arm quick Fareed Ahmad and Wafadar Momand, the only uncapped player in the squad. Nijat Masood, who took a five-wicket haul against Bangladesh on Test debut last month, was called up to replace Naveen-ul-Haq.

Bangladesh's run rate of 6.03 in the powerplay overall against Afghanistan needs to meet their powerplay run rate of 9.36 from 2023. Litton Das and Rony Talukdar have been all the rage in the Bangladesh T20I side, leading their bold approach. They have already amassed 328 runs in six innings together, just 68 short of eclipsing Bangladesh's best-ever opening pair. Their brave approach will be facing a strong Afghanistan spin attack, particularly Mujeeb who troubled the Bangladesh openers during the ODI series.

Since both teams have two major ODI tournaments from September, much of their focus will be on giving game time to key players who will feature in those competitions. At the same time, they will also be on the lookout for any new and emerging talent. Two T20Is can't tell a lot but if a player makes a case for himself, doing well in these matches could help their causes.

Bangladesh will get another look at batters Talukdar and Shamim Hossain, and spinners Nasum Ahmed and Rishad Hossain. It will also be another chance for Afif Hossain, who had a miserable ODI series, to get some runs under his belt.

Afghanistan can look at several players including batters Hazratullah, Sediqullah and Shahzad, while fast bowlers Fareed, Janat and Nijat could get a look in. The prodigious Noor Ahmad can be a handy option in the subcontinent so a call-up in Sylhet may help him.

July is peak monsoon in Sylhet. It also means peak offseason for cricket in the region. The first T20Is to be held in Sylhet for five years therefore have the risk of both matches getting interrupted by rain. T20Is, however, last roughly three hours and coupled with the ground's strong drainage facilities, they could sneak in the cricket. The scoring rate is quite high for night T20s in recent years in Sylhet, with BPL teams scoring at an average of 182 runs an innings since 2020.