AFG vs BAN 2025: Mohammad Saleem ruled out with groin injury, Bilal Sami replaces him

Afghanistan’s right-arm pacer Mohammad Saleem has been ruled out of the upcoming three-match ODI series against Bangladesh in Abu Dhabi due to a groin adductor overload. Following this, Saleem will report to the Afghanistan Cricket Board’s (ACB) High Performance Center for rehabilitation, as confirmed by the ACB.

In his place, right-arm medium-pacer Bilal Sami has been called up to Afghanistan’s ODI squad for the series against Bangladesh. Saleem has played two ODIs so far, both against Bangladesh in July 2023. He last represented Afghanistan in his solitary Test, which was against Sri Lanka in Colombo in February 2024.

Sami, who is 21 years old, has featured for Afghanistan only once, on his ODI debut against Zimbabwe in December 2024. In his career so far, he has played 25 List-A matches, claiming 44 wickets at an average of 25.72. He also represented Afghanistan Under-19s at the 2022 World Cup, where the youngster took four wickets in five outings.

Recently, Sami played in the Ghazi Amanullah Khan Regional One Day Tournament, Afghanistan's domestic 50 overs competition, which concluded in September. He emerged as Speen Ghar Region's second-highest wicket-taker with ten wickets at an average of 22.90 and an economy rate of 4.97.

The Afghans will face Bangladesh in the first ODI on October 8, 2025, followed by the second and third game on October 11 and 14, respectively. In the lead-up to the series, the Bangla Tigers whitewashed the Rashid Khan-led side in the three-match T20I series, comfortably chasing down targets in all matches to complete a total whitewash.

Afghanistan updated ODI squad

Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Rahmat Shah (vc), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ikram Alikhil (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Sediqullah Atal, Darwish Rasooli, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Nangeyalia Kharote, AM Ghazanfar, Abdullah Ahmadzai, Bashir Ahmad, and Bilal Sami

Reserves: Faridoon Dawoodzai

Bangladesh ODI Squad

Mehidy Hasan Miraz (c), Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Md Naim Sheikh, Mohammed Saif Hassan, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Tawhid Hridoy, Jaker Ali Anik, Shamim Hossain, Quazi Nurul Hasan Sohan, Rishad Hossain, Tanvir Islam, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Hasan Mahmud, Nahid Rana