We have come here to win: Shahidi

The 50-over format is Bangladesh's strongest suit and this is backed up by their winning percentage in ODIs but Afghanistan skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi didn't want to ponder too much about the hosts' pedigree and backed his side, underlining their desire to win.

Afghanistan will start their white-ball mission in the Tigers' den with the first of the three-match ODI series starting tomorrow at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram.

Shahidi was asked whether he considers Bangladesh as favourites for the series given the Tigers' current ODI form to which he replied, "We also came here to play cricket and win games. It's not about them. Yes, of course, they have played good cricket but we are also here to play good cricket. We have also done well in the last two years."

The hosts have dominated Afghanistan in recent contests, winning four out of the last five matches, including a 2-1 series win in Chattogram last year. They further polished that head-to-head record with a 546-run win in the lone Test last month. 

But Shahidi and his troops have won 12 out of 18 ODIs since 2021 and managed to beat Sri Lanka twice in the last seven months, a record which will help to boost their confidence. 
"Yeah. Because we didn't play Test cricket for two-and-a-half years. In that game, our main players like Rashid Khan were injured. Fazal Haq wasn't available, and Azmat wasn't available. He had a groin injury. So that was the missing part. 

"We are playing ODIs for a long time, we are playing very well, especially for the last two years. We built the team and we are working on it and improving match by match. So we have a better team in ODIs," he said.