Tigers take on Afghanistan in one-off Test today

Bangladesh will take on Afghanistan for one-off Test, starting today (Wednesday) at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in the city with an aim to continue a rare winning run in this format, report agencies.
The match will start at 10am and will be aired live on Gazi TV and T Sports. Fans can also enjoy the game on digital platform Rabbithole app and web.
Opening batter Tamim Iqbal has been ruled out of the one-off Test match against Afghanistan due to lower back pain. “Tamim has been experiencing lower back pain which has troubled him from time to time. Our treatment and procedures focused on reducing the pain and improving his functional ability but unfortunately, his condition hasn’t improved sufficiently for him to play the Test match,” National Team physio Muzadded Alpha Sany said.
“He has felt stiffness and pain while batting and fielding in training and has not been able to complete the physical preparation required to play for five days” he added.
The hosts are already missing star all-rounder and skipper Shakib Al Hasan, who has been nursing a finger injury, and there are also doubts whether pace bowler Taskin Ahmed will play.
In absent of Tamim, Zakir Hasan and Mahmudul Hasan could open the batting for Bangladesh.
Hathurusingha refused to guarantee the inclusion of Taskin despite his recovering from a side injury that ruled him out of Bangladesh's last Test, a seven-wicket win over Ireland in April.
With the Asia Cup and one-day World Cup approaching, the team are worried about Taskin's workload.
He is one of the few players who is a regular starter for Bangladesh in all three formats when fit. "Physically I think he is in the best condition we all have seen," said Hathurusingha. "There's no injury. Bowling workload is the one little bit of concern we had leading up to this period.
"So again, him also, we will assess after today's training and then make up our minds." The one-off Test against Afghanistan at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium is set to take place on a green track much like the one for the Ireland Test. "You know that with this heat it'll deteriorate very quickly and then it'll help the spinners in the latter parts of the game," said Hathurusingha.
The two teams have played only one previous Test, with Afghanistan beating their hosts by 224 runs in Chittagong in 2019. Afghanistan coach Jonathan Trott said the visitors would miss experienced all-rounder Rashid Khan, who has been rested with an eye on upcoming matches. "It is very difficult to replace a guy like Rashid. He has vast experience in playing all around the world in different competitions and different variations of the game," he said.
"Obviously, there's a lot of cricket coming up. Asia Cup and World Cup is coming up... I certainly see this time off for him now to get his back sorted out, with a view to the future."
In the only game between the two sides in this format, Afghanistan beat Bangladesh by 224 runs, thanks to an 11-wicket haul of Rashid Khan.