“Don’t go for hero. Goes for hero. Bowled em. The Bangla tigers have knocked the English lions out of the world cup”.
If you are a fan of Bangladesh cricket you should remember this bit of commentary from the former England skipper Nasser Hussain. It was the moment that Bangladesh qualified for the quarter finals of the ICC world cup 2015. Fast forward to 2019, 2 Asia cup finals and a ICC champions trophy semi-final later Bangladesh will look to go all the way in this edition of the ICC world cup being held at England and Wales.
Mashrafe Mortoza and his quartet of generals Tamim Iqbal, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah Riad make up the core of the team. The “big 5 of Bangladesh” as some look to call it have more ODIs between them than the entire Australian squad for this world cup. Bangladesh will rely on this experience to carry them throughout the tournament.
The Fab Five
Tamim Iqbal has been in good form since the last world cup. However his average of a mere 26.57 this calendar year needs to improve in the tournament if Bangladesh look to have a solid start. His converted role of being the anchor of the team instead of the squash buckling aggressive opener that we were so used to seeing has given the team much more stability at the top. Shakib slots in at number 3 from the looks of the recently concluded tri-nation series. Although he missed the final of the tournament with a side strain injury, Bangladesh will hope the all-rounder is fit by the world cup.
In at 4 is “Mr. Dependable” Mushfiqur Rahim. His ability to rotate strike will be key during the middle overs of the tournament. Although injury has opted Mahmudullah from bowling in the tri-nation series, the “Crisis man of the team” (As Mashrafe puts it) will be hopefully fit to bowl his handy off spinners during the tournament. The captain himself will be crucial as he looks to come in to bat at the back end of the innings and with the ball through his line and length. But most importantly its his captaincy that the team requires to guide them through the tournament.
The Promising Youngsters
The debate was about who should be Tamim’s opening partner , Soumya Sarker or Liton Das? With 50s in all three matches that he played in the tri-nation series, the odds are definitely in Soumya’s favour going in to the world cup. However Liton Das is also in good touch as made good use of the one chance he got during the series, scoring 76 at above a run a ball against Ireland and 73 against India in the warm match at Cardiff. The explosive nature of these batsmen will be key to get quick runs at the top of the innings.
Mohammad Mithun takes up the number 5 position after impressive performances in the Asia cup and in the series against New Zealand. He compliments Mushfiqur Rahim well through his ability to rotate the strike.
The finisher position is down to one of Sabbir Rahman and Mosaddek Hossain. With a 27 ball 52 in the final of the tri-nation series against the Windies, Mosaddek might just get the nod in this regard.A key factor in English conditions is the seaming all rounder of the team. Bangladesh have Saifuddin in that role playing as the third or fourth choice seamer while being able to add some handy runs down the order for the team. Mehedy Hasan is the second choice spin bowling all-rounder of the team after Shakib. If the pitches are dry we can expect to see him in the playing eleven. The seamers Rubel Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman and new face Abu Jayed make up the remaining team. According to the skipper himself, Abu Jayed is the only player in the team who can swing the ball both ways and accurately predict the swing beforehand, making him a good asset for the team.
Bangladesh cricket team usually performs well in alternate World Cups. If this trend follows, 2019 World Cup will bring bad news. But obviously the game is more about what goes on in the field on match day.
Bangladesh were scheduled to play two warm up games at Cardiff on the 26th (Pakistan) and 28th (India) of May. The match against Pakistan was unfortunately abandoned due to rain. The match against India was lost. As Mashrafe likes to say ‘Performing poorly in a warm match helps us detect our shortcomings and work on them before the actual games begin.’ Bangladesh will be starting the tournament on the 2nd of June against South Africa. The cricketers will get enough time to work out the problems and be ready for the opening match with a loaded arsenal.The vigour of the youth and experience of the seniors will decide how far the team will go in the tournament.