The Bangladesh cricket team will start their ICC Champions Trophy campaign against India on February 19. The Tigers have happy memories in Pakistan, albeit in a different format. Who can forget that they claimed a historic 2-0 Test victory over Pakistan last year? But their white-ball game hasn’t been progressing for a while now. Bangladesh has beaten India once in an ODI ICC event and would hope to do it again.
Strengths: Middle-order, bowling & nothing to lose outlook
Having Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah will be great for Bangladesh. The veterans have won several matches for the Tigers and saved them from embarrassment time and again. Both can drop anchor and then accelerate. Rahim can play long innings while Mahmudullah can play the role of a finisher perfectly.
Bangladesh may have one of the top bowling lineups in terms of talent and options. The issue would be application. They have three front-line spinners (Mehidy Hasan Miraz: right-arm orthodox, Nasum Ahmed: left-arm orthodox, Rishad Hossain: leg spinner), four out-and-out pacers (Tanzim Hasan Sakib: right-arm medium, Mustafizur Rahman: left-arm medium, and Nahid Rana & Taskin Ahmed: right-arm fast). They also have a couple of part-timers (Mahmudullah and Soumya Sarkar).
However, the best thing could be the fact that Bangladesh are massive underdog. No one rates them. In fact, most think they are the worst team in the ICC Champions Trophy. This could give them the freedom to swing freely. Stop caring about the result and shock any team.
Latest Cricket News
- MS Dhoni, the wicketkeeper, makes 3 out of 3 stumpings amid all the noise over batting position
- “Out-of-form” Nitish Rana conquers Guwahati with 81-run blitz, repays Rajasthan Royals’s trust
- Sanju Samson blows another chance to go past Abhishek Sharma & Jaiswal in race for T20 World Cup spot
Weaknesses: Shaky batting, power hitting & no Shakib Al Hasan
The strength they have also happens to be their weakness. Having Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah is good, but the overreliance on them isn’t good. For a long time now, Bangladesh hasn’t had great top-order batters. The same continues. Their batting remains hit-and-miss as usual. Also, apart from Mahmudullah and Jaker Ali to some extent, they don’t have any hitters.
The biggest miss would be the absence of Shakib Al Hasan. Yes, his bowling action has been under scrutiny, and he isn’t a spring chicken anymore, but no one serviced Bangladesh as well as Shakib. He was the best ODI all-rounder for a few years, and the void he left can’t be fixed.
Bangladesh’s squad for ICC Champions Trophy
Najmul Hossain Shanto (c), Soumya Sarkar, Tanzid Hasan, Tawhid Hridoy, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Mahmudullah, Jaker Ali Anik, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Rishad Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Parvez Hossai Emon (wk), Nasum Ahmed, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Nahid Rana
Editor's Pick
Cricket
MS Dhoni, the wicketkeeper, makes 3 out of 3 stumpings amid all the noise over batting position
Top Stories
