Afghanistan speedster Mohammad Saleem Safi has been ruled out of the upcoming three-match ODI series against Bangladesh due to a groin (adductor) overload. The three-match ODI series between Afghanistan and Bangladesh is scheduled to start on October 8.
Who will replace Saleem Safi in Australia's ODI squad?
Safi, who has played one Test and T20I for Afghanistan, apart from two ODI appearances and the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) has announced 21-year-old Bilal Sami as his replacement. Sami has represented Afghanistan in one ODI so far. The three-match ODI series will take place on October 8, 11 and 14, respectively at Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi.
“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 Centre until he fully recovers and can rejoin the national setup,” further said the ACB in its statement.
Afghanistan and Bangladesh's last outings
The upcoming ODI series will be important for Afghanistan to get some wins after losing the T20I series 3-0 to Bangladesh in Sharjah. In the third T20I, Afghanistan, sent in to bat first, struggled to build momentum throughout their innings.
They failed to stitch a partnership till a late surge from Darwish Rasooli (32) and Mujeeb Ur Rahman lifted them to 143/9 in their allotted 20 overs. Their bowling performance was not up to the mark 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.
Before this series, Bangladesh defeated Afghanistan by eight runs in the recently concluded Asia Cup 2025 in UAE. Afghanistan and Bangladesh last played a three-match ODI series against each other in November 2024, with the latter winning by 2-1 margin.