Not a great deal will be expected of Bangladesh at the upcoming World Cup. With a largely inexperienced team, which seems unsuited to the conditions in Australia and New Zealand, the Tigers will head to Oceania as a side expected to beat the ‘minnows’ or their group, in Afghanistan and Scotland, but fail to get a win against an ICC full member side.
However, in the 2011 edition of the event, the outsiders might have qualified for the knockout stages, but for a poor showing against the West Indies, as they won in dramatic circumstances against England, and eventually missed out on qualification by the virtue of net run rate. A repeat of that famous upset may yet happen in 2015, with the two nations having been drawn in the same group, but who are the players that might lead the Tigers to success?
Bangladesh confirm Final 15 Man Squad for #cwc15 with @BCBtigers set for Pool A in Aus/NZ http://t.co/cepAWtV8ng pic.twitter.com/zRuHnZIe5b
— ICC (@ICC) January 4, 2015
Captaining the side is fast bowler Mashrafe Mortaza, who struggled in the early stages of his international career, but has now taken on the challenge of leadership, and helped the side to a recent 5-0 whitewash against Zimbabwe. How he fares with the new ball will be key to Bangladesh’s success, and his use of younger bowlers is also imperative.
He will be appearing at his third World Cup, along with deputy Shakib Al-Hasan, opener Tamim Iqbal and wicket-keeper Mushfiqur Rahim, all of whom will be hoping that their experience and nous will aid the side’s push for victory. Tamim’s form of 2011 and 2012 has not been replicated recently, and his ODI average has dropped as low as 29.85, but being the quick-scoring player that he is, do not bet against him having a great tournament as a hard-hitter in the powerplay.
Another experienced campaigner is the all-rounder Mahmadullah, who scored 166 runs without dismissal across the final three ODIs against Zimbabwe, and offers his captain a useful option with his off-breaks; his economy rate of 5.04 in ODIs shows his ability to tie down an end for his skipper. It may prove a valuable option, given that, as seems customary for Bangladesh, their squad includes a plethora of left-arm spinners, with Shakib, Taijul Islam and Arafat Sunny all perpetrators of that particular bowling style.
Taijul himself is an interesting inclusion in the squad; he is only 22 years of age, but having taken a hat-trick on ODI debut, finds himself thrust into the squad ahead of leg-spinner Jubair Hossain. In fact, Bangladesh’s coach, Chandika Hathuruinsgha, said of Jubair’s exclusion “I would love to have Jubair in the team. Legspinners in Australia are very effective. In my experience in the last four years in Australia, every state team tries to get a legspinner in the team. They are the wicket-takers.” This perhaps implies that he was less than happy with Taijul’s inclusion, so it will be intriguing to see whether the Prime Bank spinner makes the playing XI.
The other notable inclusion was that of Soumya Sarkar, who will provide cover for the opening pair of Tamim and Anamul Haque, as well as for the seam attack. The Bangladesh Cricket Board’s press release said of the 21-year-old “Soumya is a utility player who can bat at the top order and his medium-pace bowling also can be handy in Australia-New Zealand.”
As well as the consistency of the batting line-up, the seam attack will be a key component in any success the Tigers have in the World Cup. As well as himself, Mashrafe can call upon Rubel Hossain, Al-Amin Hossain, Sarkar or the highly-rated teenager Taskin Ahmed to bowl with the new ball and at the death. Taskin’s excellent progress in his three ODIs is reflected in his statistics with the ball; so far, he has taken seven wickets in three outings, at an average of 12.71 and a world-class economy of 3.86. Whether he can keep this up against the best players in the world remains to be seen, but it should prove fascinating.
The fixture list has fallen favourably for Bangladesh, with their opening game against Afghanistan in Canberra likely to attract only a small crowd, creating a low-pressure environment. If a comfortable victory is on the board going into their games against Australia at the Gabba, followed by Sri Lanka at the MCG, they may be able to create a shock.
The following game, against Scotland in Nelson, will provide relief after two daunting fixtures, and could help create momentum going into the final two games, against England, arguably the most winnable match against a higher-ranked side, and New Zealand.
One of the huge positives about the squad is that despite an average age below 25, the squad has a large amount of international pedigree. If they use this well, and reflect their experience in the execution of their skills, the Tigers should by no means be written off.
Bangladesh World Cup squad: Tamim Iqbal, Anamul Haque, Soumya Sarkar, Mominul Haque, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah, Nasir Hossain, Sabbir Rahman, Mashrafe Mortaza (capt), Taskin Ahmed, Al-Amin Hossain, Rubel Hossain, Arafat Sunny, Taijul Islam
Feb 18 03:30 GMT – Afghanistan v Bangladesh, Canberra
Feb 21 03:30 GMT – Australia v Bangladesh, Brisbane
Feb 26 03:30 GMT – Bangladesh v Sri Lanka, Melbourne
Mar 4 22:00 GMT – Bangladesh v Scotland, Nelson
Mar 9 03:30 GMT – England v Bangladesh, Adelaide
Mar 13 01:00 GMT – New Zealand v Bangladesh, Hamilton
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