Bangladesh and Afghanistan's chances of reaching the final four of the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023 could well hinge on the outcome of their opening match today, Saturday October 7.

Only qualifiers Netherlands are ranked lower in the men's ODI rankings than Bangladesh and Afghanistan, meaning both of these teams will need a string of upsets in order to reach the semi-finals.

But both teams have plenty of talent and are capable of troubling the world's best, particularly in conditions that play to their strengths, which will be the case in some of the venues at this tournament.

Victory in Dharamsala for either side would boost those semi-final chances, but conditions may not favour the teams' strengths. Afghanistan have three of the top ten in the MRF Tyres ICC ODI Bowling Rankings, all of whom are spinners, while Bangladesh's Shakib Al Hasan remains one of the best in the world.

Yet history suggests that spin goes the distance in Dharamsala, with short boundaries and high altitude meaning that quick bowlers have had more wicket-taking impact at the ground.

Squads:

Afghanistan squad: Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Riaz Hassan, Rahmat Shah, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Ikram Alikhil, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Abdul Rahman, Naveen ul Haq.

Bangladesh squad: Shakib Al Hasan (c), Litton Kumer Das, Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Najmul Hossain Shanto (vc), Tawhid Hridoy, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah Riyad, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Nasum Ahmed, Shak Mahedi Hasan, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Hasan Mahmud, Shoriful Islam, Tanzim Hasan Sakib.

Key Players

Bangladesh - Shakib Al Hasan
Evergreen skipper Shakib Al Hasan continues to re-write the record books on the eve of his fifth World Cup. with the Bangladesh star still holding on to the No.1 ranking in the category for ODI all-rounders.

Shakib has previously appeared at the 2007, 2011, 2015 and 2019 editions and amazingly held on to the No.1 ODI all-rounder ranking at the start of every tournament since his second appearance in 2011.

The veteran is also Bangladesh's highest-ranked bowler at 17, while Mushfiqur Rahim has their best ranking for batters at 21.

Afghanistan - Rashid Khan
Afghanistan have two players inside the top three in the ODI rankings category, with former captain Mohammad Nabi leading the way as the No.2 ranked all-rounder.

Spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman is third in the ODI bowler rankings, while fellow tweaker Rashid Khan (fourth) is not far behind in this category and is widely regarded as one of the best white-ball players in the world game, thanks largely to his efforts in the shorter format, and will be key to his team's chances.

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If you haven’t already tuned in to watch today’s match, there’s still time to do so.

Bangladesh won the toss and opted to bowl first.

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Afghanistan’s fixtures are as follows?
• Afghanistan vs Bangladesh: Saturday, October 7, 2023, Dharamsala
• Afghanistan vs India: Wednesday, October 11, 2023, Delhi
• Afghanistan vs England: Saturday, October 14, 2023, Delhi
• Afghanistan vs New Zealand: Wednesday, October 18, 2023, Chennai
• Afghanistan vs Pakistan: Monday, October 23, 2023, Chennai
• Afghanistan vs Sri Lanka: Monday, October 30, 2023, Pune
• Afghanistan vs Netherlands: Friday, November 3, 2023, Lucknow
• Afghanistan vs Australia: Tuesday, November 7, 2023, Mumbai
• Afghanistan vs South Africa: Friday, November 10, 2023, Ahmedabad