Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto said the dry pitch was one of the reasons behind his decision to bat first. He expects batting to become more difficult as the match progresses, with the surface likely to offer more turn on the second and third days.

“Looks dry and I think day two, day three it will start spinning and then the pitch will be little bit slower than normal here,” Shanto said.

Bangladesh will go into the match with three spinners and two fast bowlers. Shanto said the team had prepared for Afghanistan’s quality spin attack and hoped to put up a consistent performance.

“Yeah, obviously, I think we have been playing some great cricket. But as a team we need to be consistent enough and this is another opportunity to show our skill,” he said.

Rahmat Shah leads Afghanistan in Test cricket for the first time

Afghanistan will be led by Rahmat Shah, who said he was proud to captain the side in Test cricket for the first time.

“Yeah, I’m feeling very proud and also try to play good cricket,” Rahmat said.

He acknowledged Bangladesh’s strength but said Afghanistan would focus on discipline and consistency.

“To be honest, they are very strong. We respect them and we believe in our own abilities. We perform, play with discipline, consistency and play normal game,” he said.

Rahmat also outlined Afghanistan’s bowling approach, stressing the importance of bowling in the right areas and targeting the stumps consistently.