Afghanistan has been dealt a blow on the eve of a keenly awaited ODI series against Bangladesh, as their pace spearhead, Mohammad Saleem, has been ruled out due to a groin injury.
The 23-year-old right-arm pacer sustained what was diagnosed by the doctors as an “adductor overload”: a muscle strain near the thigh area. He will thus be unable to participate in cricket activities for some time.
According to the Afghanistan Cricket Board, Saleem will commence his rehabilitation at their High Performance Center while continuing to train until he reaches full fitness.
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It has further been disclosed by the team’s physiotherapist that the bowler will not be available for the opening match scheduled for Wednesday and almost certainly not for the entire series.
In his place, Afghanistan has roped in 21-year-old medium-fast bowler Bilal Sami to complete the squad. It is noteworthy that Sami has hitherto donned the Afghanistan jersey in just a single ODI, against Zimbabwe in December 2024.
He has also represented the Afghanistan Under-19 side at the 2022 U-19 World Cup, and more recently, he performed impressively in Afghanistan’s domestic one-day tournament, clinching 10 wickets.
Saleem came to the party for Afghanistan in two ODIs, both facing Bangladesh in July 2023, and a Test match earlier this year against Sri Lanka. His absence will, therefore, be keenly felt as Afghanistan looks to regroup after having lost the recent T20 series to Bangladesh by 3-0.
The imminent three-match ODI series will be staged completely at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi, on October 8, 11, and 14, and hopefully, the team will deliver a reprisal performance in the 50-over format under the leadership of Hashmatullah Shahidi.
Afghanistan updated ODI squad:
Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Rahmat Shah (vc), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ikram Alikhil (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Sediqullah Atal, Darwish Rasooli, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Nangeyalia Kharote, AM Ghazanfar, Abdullah Ahmadzai, Bashir Ahmad, and Bilal Sami
