Spotlight on four rookies

Middle-order batsman Mosaddek Hossain, former Under-19 captain Mehedi Hasan Miraz, pace bowling all-rounder Alauddin Babu and paceman Subashish Roy are the ones with the opportunity to make their ODI debuts during this series. They have performed the best among the Bangladesh Cricket Board’s High Performance players in the last few months and caught attention of the selectors to make way into the national camp. Given the Afghanistan series will be preparation for the Tigers before they take on England in October, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Bangladesh think-tank trying out these newcomers. This also means that established players will have to make way for the fresh faces. Dhaka Tribune takes a look at the four uncapped players, and what they bring to the table.Mosaddek HossainPlaying role: Middle-order batsman Age: 20 Mosaddek is perhaps the most deserving contender in the pool. He was in brilliant form in last season’s Dhaka Premier League. The right handed middle-order batsman, who also bowls occasional off-break, was hot for eventual champions Abahani Limited, scoring 622 runs at an average of 77.75 with five half centuries. Mosaddek played a solitary Twenty20 international for Bangladesh against Zimbabwe in January this year. He could be in the ODIs against Afghanistan in place of Nasir Hossain, who last played for Bangladesh in November 2015 in the home series against Zimbabwe.Mehedi HasanPlaying role: All-rounder Age: 18 Mehedi made his mark with both his performance and captaincy as Bangladesh U-19 moved to the semi-finals of the U-19 World Cup for the first time earlier this year. Though he had a mediocre performance for relegated side Kalabagan Cricket Academy in the DPL, the national selectors picked Mehedi for his off-spin which can be a good option if they are looking beyond Shuvagata Hom.Subashish RoyPlaying role: Pace bowler Age: 27 Subashish has emerged as a reputed paceman in domestic cricket but his luck has been slender in making it big and walk into the national dressing room. He had a decent season for Mohammedan Sporting Club with 18 wickets from 14 matches but the fact which puts him ahead is his domestic experience. Bangladesh in the recent times have counted on their pacers who have a big reason behind the successes, and with key bowlers including the likes of Mustafizur Rahman suffering shoulder injury and Taskin Ahmed still an uncertain prospect given his reassessment has just been completed, Subashish is most likely to make his way in at least the 14-member squad for Afghanistan series.Alauddin BabuPlaying role: Pace bowling all-rounder Age: 24 Chosen for his all-round ability, Alauddin ended the DPL for Legends of Rupganj with 17 wickets in 13 innings and made decent contributions with the bat. Alauddin was picked because the selectors were looking for a fast bowling all-rounder. He also did well in the matches played by the HP squad recently. At the moment his role can fit to limited-over captain Mashrafe bin Mortaza and this might make Babu wait longer for his ODI debut.