I have covered the eight teams that are expected to make it to the quarterfinals. Now I come to a team that is neither a top one nor a minnow. Bangladesh as a team has evolved over the years and has become a much better unit that what it was. The 2007 World Cup helped them realize their potential and set higher goals for themselves. However, they are neither a top team nor a minnow; they are just somewhere in between. It is a mistake to take them lightly as most teams in World Cricket would know.
The 2007 World Cup was one of the best moments for Bangladesh Cricket. They beat India and Bermuda to get through to the super eights but somehow lost their way there. Just a solitary win against South Africa did not do justice to their campaign. What that World Cup did was that it helped them discover some fantastic youngsters who form the backbone of their squad for the current World Cup. We can divide the last four years for Bangladesh in two parts. In the first two years they were still struggling under the captaincy Mohammed Ashraful but things got really better for them once Mortaza and Shakib Al Hasan took over. Mortaza has been out injured for most parts of the last two years and hence the responsibility has fallen on Shakib who is entrusted to lead them at the World Cup.
In the last two years Bangladesh have managed to beat a weakened West Indies in the Caribbean, give a scare to India in a test match at Chittagong early last year, beat England in an ODI at Bristol and the stunning 4-0 victory over New Zealand. Their good performances have been scattered over the last two years with some which would disappoint them. They are stage similar to where Sri Lanka were during the 1992 World Cup. This is the main reason I say that they still have some way to go to become a top team but they are no more pushovers definitely. They need more consistency to become an even better team than what they are. I believe that they have the talent in their squad but have to find the consistency. With all their matches in Bangladesh, they would hope to pull off an upset or two to get through to the quarterfinals.
Let us have a look fifteen member squad picked by Bangladesh:
1. Shakib Al Hasan (captain)
2. Mushfiqur Rahim (wicket-keeper)
3. Tamim Iqbal
4. Junaid Siddique
5. Mohammed Ashraful
6. Abdur Razzak
7. Mahmudullah
8. Rubel Hossain
9. Shafiul Islam
10. Nazmul Hossain
11. Suhrawadi Shuwo
12. Shahriar Nafees
13. Imrul Kayes
14. Naeem Islam
15. Raqibul Hassan
The team has a lot of youngsters; lots of talent and they have it in them to perform on a given day. Mohammed Ashraful is the most experienced and is going to play his third world cup. We have to wait and watch if they opt to play him in the playing eleven. In their last ODI series against Zimbabwe the batting order that they preferred was Tamim, Kayes, Junaid, Raqibul, Shakib, Rahim and Naeem. Ashraful hasn’t been a part of their eleven as he hasn’t been performing to his potential. The bowling combination they chose was Razzak, Shafiul, Mortaza and Shuwo. With Morataza injured and not in the squad; it would be either Rubel or Nazmul who would take his place. The injury to Mortaza is a big blow to the team as he is their talismanic fast bowler and his presence makes a big difference to them. However, they now have to play without him and thus the responsibility on their left arm spinners increases.
Bangladesh would like to bank on their strengths i.e. their batting and their left arm spinners. Tamim Iqbal has been one of the best batsmen in the world during the last year not just for Bangladesh. He has been consistent and that has led to him being appointed the vice-captain. Imrul Kayes is a sound batsman and usually plays the long innings. Siddique is an attacking batsman who comes in at number three. The middle order is comprised by Shakib , Raqibul, Rahim etc. They have good batsmen but sometimes they tend to play to many shots and get out in a hurry. They have to realize that they have to wait there, build their innings and put the bad balls away. Some of their batsmen go after the bowling for ball one and that surely doesn’t help their cause. The left armer spinners have been Bangladesh’ strength since the last World Cup. Shakib and Razzak are still there and Mohammed Rafique has been replaced by a very talented Suhrawadi Shuwo, who has done very well in his chances. These spinners would be used as attacking and defensive options. They would have to pick up wickets along with keeping a check on the scoring. This is where the middle over become crucial for the team batting against them. They have to ensure that they don’t lose too many wickets and at the same time keep the scoreboard ticking.
STRENGTHS:
1. Batting line-up: They have a good batting line-up with most of their batsman being aggressive. They would have to bat around Tamim and Shakib who seem to be their mainstays.
2. Left Arm Spinners: As I have already mentioned the left arm spinners are the key for Bangladesh. If the other team can attack them then they can get Bangladesh in a situation but that is a difficult task. Bangladesh will look for consistency from them.
WEAKNESSES:
1. Too erratic at times: Some of their batsmen play an attacking shot too many. Sometimes this leads to their downfall.
2. Fast bowling: They have good fast bowlers but they aren’t as threatening as Mortaza. He is said to be a back up player and will come in only if someone gets injured.
MY PREDICTION:
They have to beat at least two of the top four teams of the group to go through to the next round. It is very difficult for them to do so but not impossible. They tend to surprise you and I think making a prediction either ways is difficult.
WARM UP FIXTURES:
1. Versus Canada at Zahur Ahmed Choudhury Stadium, Chittagong, Bangladesh. On February 12 at 02:30 PM Bangladesh Time (half an hour ahead of IST).
2. Versus Pakistan at Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur, Bangladesh. On February 15 at 02:30 PM Bangladesh Time.
GROUP FIXTURES:
1. Versus India at Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur, Bangladesh. On February 19 at 02:30 PM Bangladesh Time.
2. Versus Ireland at Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur, Bangladesh. On February 25 at 02:30 PM Bangladesh Time.
3. Versus West Indies at Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur, Bangladesh. On March 4 at 02:30 PM Bangladesh Time.
4. Versus England at Zahur Ahmed Choudhury Stadium, Chittagong, Bangladesh. On March 11 at 02:30 PM Bangladesh Time.
5. Versus Netherlands at Zahur Ahmed Choudhury Stadium, Chittagong, Bangladesh. On March 14 at 09:30 AM Bangladesh Time.
6. Versus South Africa at Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur, Bangladesh. On March 19 at 09:30 AM Bangladesh Time.
RECORD IN PREVIOUS TOURNAMENTS:
1975 to 1996: Did not participate.
1999: Eliminated in the first round. Managed to beat Pakistan in one game.
2003: Eliminated in the first round. Lost all matches.
2007: Eliminated in the super eights. Beat India, South Africa and Bermuda.
MOST RUNS: Mohammed Ashraful. 287 runs in 14 matches at an average of 28.70
MOST WICKETS: Abdur Razzak. 13 wickets in 9 matches at an average of 26.46.
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