Uncapped pace bowler Nahid Rana and left-arm spinner Nasum Ahmed is unavailable for the opening ODI against Afghanistan due to visa issues, said a Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) official on Tuesday.

Bangladesh will have to select their playing XI from 13 players for the first ODI against Afghanistan on Wednesday at the Sharjah Cricket Ground.

"They did not get their visas today [Tuesday]. Hopefully, they will go tomorrow [Wednesday] as we expect them to get visas tomorrow…Unfortunately, they are unavailable for the first match," the official told the Daily Sun.

Nasum and Nahid are currently staying in the BCB Academy and waiting to travel to Dubai. The duo is expected to fly to Dubai as soon as they get their visas, but it is understood that both of them are unlikely to be considered for the opening game of the series.

The Bangladesh team left Dhaka in two groups to play the series scheduled from 6 November with the next two games slated respectively on 9 and 11 November.

A group of nine players left on Saturday, while four others left the following day for the UAE.