INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi won the toss against Bangladesh in the first ODI in Sharjah on Wednesday afternoon and opted to bat
first.Shahidi said after the toss the reason for choosing to bat first was that “the pitch looks good and the ball moves a bit under
lights”.As the match got underway, Afghanistan handed a debut to left-hand opening batter Sediqullah Atal, with regular opener Ibrahim
Zadran ruled out due to an ankle injury.Atal, however, has played six T20Is already.Afghanistan enters the series on the back of a 2-1 win
against South Africa in September, while Bangladesh are playing their first ODI in eight months.Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) has also
included some familiar faces including Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi along with
Fazalhaq Farooqi, Azmatullah Omarzai and Gulbadin
Naib.Afghanistan are coming off a 2-1 win against South Africa, even as Bangladesh are playing their first ODI in eight monthsBut Bangladesh
skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto is leading his squad in the three-match ODI series as they look to bury their misery after being thrashed by
South Africa in their two-match Test series last week.Bangladesh meanwhile sit eight in the ICC ODI team rankings – just ahead of
Afghanistan at ninth.But Afghanistan are on a high in limited overs cricket, having beaten top nations including England, Pakistan and Sri
Lanka in last year’s World Cup held in India.The post Afghanistan bat first, hand ODI debut to Sediqullah Atal first appeared on Ariana
