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Afghanistan see ODIs as good World Cup preparation


Published : 04 Jul 2023 07:43 PM

Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi said Monday their one-day international series will be ideal preparation ahead of the Asia Cup and World Cup.

The three-match series will begin in Chittagong on Wednesday, with Afghanistan looking for their first ODI series win in Bangladesh at their third attempt.

"We have games in the Asia Cup and World Cup, so this will be a good preparation for us to judge the opposition like the Bangladesh team," Shahidi told reporters in Chittagong.

This year's 50-over Asia Cup tournament will be jointly hosted by Pakistan and Sri Lanka between August 31 and September 17, before the ODI World Cup in India opens in October.

"Bangladesh always plays well in their home, and also they did well in the last couple of years in ODIs," Shahidi said. "But we also played good cricket in ODIs in the last two years."

Afghanistan played two ODI series in Bangladesh, in 2016 and 2022, losing both 2-1.

They lost the one-off Test in the current series by a record 546 runs in June but hope to reverse their fortunes in the ODIs with the return of key players such as Rashid Khan.