Shaheen Shah Afridi arrived in Dhaka saying all the right things. Pakistan’s new-look ODI side, six players uncapped and three of them pencilled straight into the top three, starts its three-match series against Bangladesh on Wednesday. After the chaos of an early exit at the T20 World Cup, and those well-publicised PCB fines, Afridi’s job is pretty clear: settle the group and move on.
Bangladesh skipper Mehidy Hasan Miraz faces a different knot. The Tigers also missed that World Cup, spirits dipped, and he has been parked on the sidelines for most of the last three months. His own figures with bat and ball have drifted. So it is a reset of another sort for him – one eye on lifting the dressing-room, the other on his own rhythm.
Pakistan first. The selection meeting was blunt: uncapped opener Maaz Sadaqat, fellow BPL traveller Sahibzada Farhan and 19-year-old Shamyl Hussain will form the top three. All three debut on the same day. It is hard to recall the last time Pakistan turned up in Bangladesh with so little international experience at the top of the order, yet Afridi sounded comfortable enough.
“Look, no one was dropped for this series,” Afridi said. “We just want to give opportunity for our youngsters. They also are our future. You want to give opportunity against Bangladesh. I think when the time comes, they will also know their role and what’s coming in future. We just need to prepare our team for the World Cup. It is an opportunity for the youngsters to show their skills.”
That line about nobody being dropped – Babar Azam among those resting – is straight from head coach Mike Hesson’s playbook. Whether everyone back home believes it is another matter entirely, but Afridi doubled down.
“There will be three debuts. Sahibzada Farhan is a top performer in T20s and in List A cricket. Maaz Sadaqat will open and Shamyl Hussain will be one down. We are also, as a team, very excited to see them play for Pakistan, and not just for one series but for the future as well,” he said.
From a purely tactical angle, the move has some logic. Dhaka’s Shere Bangla surface is slow, often tacky, and quite a few of the newcomers have logged BPL overs here. “Bangladesh have a good side. They play very good cricket in home conditions. They beat West Indies recently,” Afridi reminded everyone. “We are prepared as a team. We won our last two ODI series against South Africa and Sri Lanka. We played very good cricket so we just want to continue that.”
A quick scan of the numbers backs him up; Pakistan’s bowlers have conceded under five an over in their last ten 50-over matches. The missing piece, Hesson keeps hinting, is stability in the powerplay with the bat. So the kids get a go.
“I think they have some experience here playing the Bangladesh Premier League. Sahibzada Farhan, Maaz Sadaqat and few others played here this year. I think they already played on this ground and pitch, they know the condition as well. I hope they play their best cricket,” Afridi added, sounding half-coach, half-big brother.
Mehidy, meanwhile, presented a calmer face than some local reporters expected. He has confirmed he will slot in at No.7, a spot he has bounced in and out of over the years, and keeps insisting that his form dip is temporary. “I am not worried (about my form). I always try to win games for the team, and I have done that in the past. So naturally there’s expectations about me being a match-winner. I will try to fulfil those expectations, as I have an important role with bat and ball in hand. My roles are usually helpful for t” – the words trailed off as he caught sight of the groundstaff rolling out fresh matting, but the point landed.
Bangladesh’s own selection is more conservative; the spine remains. Tamim Iqbal is nursing a finger knock, yet team management expect him to be fit by game two. In the meantime, Litton Das will open alongside the recalled Mahmudul Hasan Joy. Bowling options are plentiful – Taskin Ahmed has clocked good speeds in training – but runs remain the bigger worry. The hosts have passed 275 only once in their last eight home ODIs.
From the outside, this feels like a series both teams see as a laboratory. Pakistan are working out who supports Afridi for the next ICC cycle. Bangladesh, still clinging to the veteran core, are trying to squeeze fresh belief out of a group that looked flat in the Caribbean last December. Not the highest-profile bilateral, sure, yet plenty bubbling under the surface.
First ball is 14:00 local on Wednesday. Rain is forecast late in the evening, but for now both captains are banking on a straight fight. The winner may not prove a lot, the loser could head into a long summer with more questions than answers – and that, in early-March ODIs, is often pressure enough.
