Afghanistan in town for lone Test
As members of the Bangladesh Test squad checked into the team hotel and enjoyed a rest day ahead of the upcoming one-off Test series against Afghanistan yesterday, their opponents landed in the country divided into two groups.
The first group of Afghans landed at the Hazrat Shahjalal International airport at 9:00am while the second reached Dhaka at 12:30pm. Both Bangladesh and Afghanistan team are staying at the Pan Pacific Sonargaon hotel in the capital.
The Afghans will definitely miss star spinner Rashid Khan, who was ruled out from the only Test scheduled to begin from June 14 in Mirpur after he sustained a lower back injury during Afghanistan's recent tour of Sri Lanka.
The hosts also have some injury concerns, with the stand-in captain Liton and ODI skipper Tamim Iqbal both suffering from back pain and missing training sessions recently. Pacer Taskin Ahmed also recovered from a side strain injury but it is still uncertain whether he will be able to take part in the Test.
Both teams are scheduled to practice at the home of cricket in Mirpur from today. The Tigers will train in the morning session while Afghanistan will practice from the afternoon.
Bangladesh, led by Shakib Al Hasan, suffered a comprehensive 224-run the last and only Test they played against Afghanistan in 2019 in Chattogram.
Afghanistan will return to the country for the Eid Ul Adha break after the Test series before returning on July 1 for the three-match ODI and two-match T20I series.
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