Bangladesh opt to bat and pick Nayeem Hasan

Toss Bangladesh chose to bat vs Afghanistan

Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto decided to bat against Afghanistan in the one-off Test in Abu Dhabi. Shanto took the expected decision as captains in the last ten Tests at this venue decided to bat first, with only one of those instances leading to a defeat.

Bangladesh opted for Ebadot Hossain in place of Shoriful Islam, who took career-best figures of 7 for 49 in Bangladesh's last Test, against Australia in Mackay, in August. They also picked offspinner Nayeem Hasan, who wasn't in the originally announced Test squad, but traveled with the team to play in the practice match against UAE last week. They retained Hasan Mahmud in the XI, while Taskin Ahmed was already rested from the one-off Test.

Afghanistan opted for a batting-heavy line-up with the in-form Shahidullah batting at No. 7, with allrounders Ismat Alam and Yamin Ahmadzai making up the XI. They kept faith in the Sediqullah Atal-Abdul Malik opening combination, before the more experienced Rahmat Shah, the new captain, and his predecessor Hashmatullah Shahidi, shore up the middle order. Afghanistan have opted for left-arm spinner Ziaur Rahman Akbar and Qais Ahmed's wristspin, apart from Ismat and Ahmadzai in the pace attack.

Afghanistan: 1 Sediqullah Atal, 2 Abdul Malik, 3 Rahmat Shah (capt), 4 Hasmatullah Shahidi, 5 Ikram Alikhil, 6 Zia Akbar, 7 Shahidullah, 8 Yamin Ahmadzai, 8 Ismat Alam, 9 Qais Ahmed, 11 Mohammad Saleem

Bangladesh: 1 Tanzid Hasan, 2 Shadman Islam, 3 Mominul Haque, 4 Najmul Hossain Shanto (capt), 5 Mushfiqur Rahim, 6 Litton Das (wk), 7 Mehidy Hasan Miraz, 8 Nayeem Hasan, 9 Taijul Islam, 10 Hasan Mahmud, 11 Ebadot Hossain