Afghanistan will tackle Bangladesh in Abu Dhabi this week without right-arm quick Mohammad Saleem, who has succumbed to what the medical staff are calling a “groin (adductor) overload”. The injury, picked up during training, has ruled him out of the three-match one-day series that begins on Wednesday.
“He will now focus on his rehabilitation at the High Performance Centre,” the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) said in a short statement on Monday. No timeline for a return was offered, although the board sounded mildly optimistic about a full recovery before the end of the year.
In Saleem’s absence the selectors have turned to Bilal Sami, another right-arm seamer, albeit one still cutting his teeth at international level. Sami, 21, made his sole ODI appearance against Zimbabwe last December and has 44 wickets from 25 List A outings, averaging a tidy 25.72. At last month’s Ghazi Amanullah Khan Regional One-Day Tournament he was Speen Ghar Region’s second-most successful bowler, taking ten wickets while conceding less than five an over.
Head coach Jonathan Trott likes what he has seen. “Bilal hits the deck hard and offers good control in the middle overs. With our attack light on experience, his domestic numbers simply demanded another look,” Trott told local radio.
The blow is a personal setback for Saleem, 23, who has managed just two ODIs – both against Bangladesh in July 2023 – and a solitary Test match in Colombo earlier this year. Fitness issues have already interrupted his fledgling career; this latest strain will do little to ease the frustration.
Bangladesh arrive on Tuesday evening, fresh from a short camp in Dhaka. Captain Shakib Al Hasan kept the build-up low-key: “Conditions here suit Afghanistan, but we enjoy the challenge. Three games in five days will test both squads.”
Match one is set for an afternoon start at the Zayed Cricket Stadium, where the dry surface generally helps the spinners before dew brings the quicks back into play under lights.
