After an exhilarating week of action on the cricket pitch with all the T20Is, we are back with One Day International cricket. This time, the venue is an Asian country where a major cricket match was last staged so long ago that it could well be an away venue for the hosts themselves.
Yes, that's right! We are back in Pakistan and the Asian giants are hosting the Sri Lankan lions, err, cats if you consider that 10 of their first-choice players decided against touring. Wait, so Lahiru Thirimanne is their captain? Yeah, that's right.
The visiting home team, meanwhile, welcome back the association of Waqar Younis and Misbah-ul-Haq. During Younis' two coaching tenures, Misbah was the skipper but now with Misbah named head coach and Waqar the bowling coach, the pacer will be under the former skipper. Good way to kick-start a political feud?
WATCH OUT FOR:
Sarfaraz Ahmed
God alone knows how Sarfaraz Ahmed is continuing as the skipper of this Pakistan side. If dropping him seems a difficult choice, Misbah has given him an incentive to retire by banning biriyanis in the camp. In his last 29 innings, Sarfaraz has just four half-centuries and coupled with his captaincy, is a huge liability. Can he turn the tables around? Not the dining table, though.
Read: What's changing in Pakistan cricket with Misbah-ul-Haq's arrival?
Bangladesh - Afghanistan mini-war
The Asian heavyweights clashing is apparently hurting the ego of the Naagin dancers and they have warmed up for the tri-series finals against the Blue Tigers with a win at Chattogram, the venue of their humiliation in the one-off Test match.
Afghanistan are no pushovers and Bangladesh are wary of the other Tigers who can suck the venom out of their spin attack and provide an anti-venom through their own heavy dose of spinners. A loss in the finals would be a huge setback for the hosts after the Test loss.
WATCH OUT FOR: Mohammad Nabi
The Afghanistan all-rounder averages 43.33 with the bat this series and has been tidy with the ball. An influential player in the middle-order, Nabi's match-winning abilities will be pit against Bangladesh's own superhero, Shakib Al Hasan; an all-rounders' face-off if you may call it that.
Read: What took India 20 years and Afghanistan just one year?
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Feature image courtesy: AFP / Oli Scarff
