Abu Dhabi, Oct 6 (IANS) Afghanistan’s young right-arm fast bowler Mohammad Saleem Safi has been ruled out of the upcoming three-match ODI series against Bangladesh due to a groin (adductor) overload, said the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) on Monday.

Safi has played one Test and T20I for Afghanistan, apart from two ODI appearances. In his absence, fast bowler Bilal Sami, who’s played one ODI so far, has been promoted from the reserves pool to Afghanistan’s main squad for the series to be played totally at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium on October 8, 11 and 14 respectively.

“Team Physio believes that he is unlikely to be ready for the first ODI, which is scheduled for this Wednesday. Saleem will continue his rehabilitation at the ACB’s High Performance Center until he fully recovers and can rejoin the national setup,” further said the ACB in its statement.

The ODI series will be crucial for Afghanistan to get some wins under its belt after losing the T20I series 3-0 to Bangladesh in Sharjah. In the final T20I between the two teams on Sunday, Afghanistan, sent in to bat first, struggled to build momentum throughout their innings.

They lost wickets falling at regular intervals, till a late surge from Darwish Rasooli (32) and Mujeeb Ur Rahman lifted them to 143/9 in their allotted 20 overs. Their bowlers were also ineffective as Saif Hassan starred with an unbeaten 64 off 38 balls to guide Bangladesh to a six-wicket victory and 3-0 T20I series win.

The series victory came on the back of Bangladesh beating Afghanistan by eight runs in the Men’s T20 Asia Cup in the UAE. The last time Bangladesh and Afghanistan met in a three-match ODI series, it was in November 2024, with the latter winning by 2-1 margin.

–IANS

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