Afif Hossain was not in the home series against Ireland. He is not even in the return series against the Irish. Many believe that this middle-order batter is not in the ODI World Cup plans. However, BCB Game Development Committee Chairman Khaled Mahmud said that Afif alone can turn the match around.

Khaled Mahmud said at the Mirpur Stadium yesterday, ‘I always see Afif in the Bangladesh team. He is still young and has the ability. Players like him are not easy to find. That alone can turn the match around.’ He said, “A few days ago, we won a tough match against Afghanistan with the great pair of Afif-Miraj. Afif played some important innings in the Dhaka league as well. He also contributed in the last match as well. He is an important cricketer of Bangladesh.”

The young player scored 446 runs at an average of 55.75 and a strike rate of 114.95 for Abahani. He got his first century in List A cricket in this season and also was made captain for the ‘A’ team’s series against the West Indies.