Bangladesh will have their full strength squad for the first time in South Africa as they will take on the hosts in the first of three-match one-day international series at De Beers Diamond Oval, Kimberley today.
The Tigers were unable to get the service of their most valuable player, Sakib al Hasan in the two-match Test series, which they both lost by a huge margin.The addition of the number one all-rounder, who came from a fresh break, in the one-day series gave Bangladesh a big boost before the start of the series.
Opener Tamim Iqbal who suffered a hip muscle strain injury during the Test series and missed the second Test, also recovered reportedly enough to make himself available for first ODI.
Akram Khan, the chairman of cricket operations of the Bangladesh Cricket Board informed that there was a big possibility for Tamim to play in the first match.
‘I have talked with the Physio. He informed me that he is 80 per cent sure about playing. He also has practiced with the team today [Saturday],’ he added.
Akram believed that the inclusion of these experienced players in the one-day series would make the whole team more energetic to perform in a positive manner.
‘It is a great thing when you have experienced players in your squad. He [Tamim Iqbal], Sakib [al Hasan], Mashrafee [bin Murtaza], Mushfiq [Mushfiqur Rahim] and Riyad [Mahmudullah], all of them are experienced and play very positively.
‘We faced problems when we missed them. If we can play with our full team, our strength will be increased and the team will perform positively,’ he added.
Bangladesh over the last few years have shown a lot of progress in the ODI format and their recent success under the most experienced campaigner of the squad, Mashrafee was giving them goose-bumps to perform well against the Proteas despite they would be playing in the difficult condition.
The last time the Tigers played in their favourite format was in England, in June this year in the ICC Champions Trophy where they re-wrote their own cricketing history and made it to the semi-finals of the tournament.
The recent performances of the Tigers in this format would also give them some confidence before taking on the Proteas as they drew a bilateral series against Sri Lanka and defeated New Zealand and Ireland in a tri-nation series before the ICC event.
The last time these two countries met in the one-dayers it was in 2015 when Bangladesh registered a 2-1 series win over the Proteas on their home soil.
As Bangladesh is still searching a win against the Proteas at their own backyard, they can take any of these positive sides and get motivated for the ODIs.
-With New Age input
