New Delhi, India (BBN)-After having a disastrous campaign in 2014 Asia Cup, things have changed drastically in Bangladesh’s favour over the last two years.
After reaching the finals of the tournament in 2012, Bangladesh had a disastrous outing in 2014 and failed to win even a single match – finishing even below Afghanistan. But then things started taking turn for the better – on home soil, reports IBN Live.
The Bengal Tigers have been in stunning form of late in ODIs and have defeated the likes of India, South Africa and Pakistan at home, besides reaching the quarter-finals of the 2015 World Cup for the first time.
Their form in T20Is, however, has not been as impressive as they were held to a draw in the recently concluded series against Zimbabwe and beaten easily by South Africa.
Now that the Asia Cup is being played as a T20 tournament for the very first time, the hosts need to transform their playing style and emulate their good ODI form in the shortest format of the game.
The hosts may not be the favourites with the regions powerhouses India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, but Bangladesh must still fancy their chances considering they have a young and zealous squad and that they are playing at home.
Beating Bangladesh at home has never been easy in the recent past and the Mashrafe Mortaza-led side has sent a clear message by beating top teams over the last 12 months.
Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim and skipper Mortaza stay the core of the team and young players like Soumya Sarkar, Mustafizur Rahman and Taskin Ahmed add further to their tenacious nature.
Shakib and Mortaza are two of the most experienced players in the squad and they will have to lead the team, handle pressure situations and keep the youngsters motivated that they can beat anyone.
Imrul Kayes has made a comeback to the squad in place of veteran Tamim Iqbal, who will miss the tournament due to personal reasons.
Tamim was Bangladesh’s best batsman in the T20Is and his absence will hurt the team. So Soumya Sarkar, along with Kayes, will be expected to give Bangladesh good starts.
Sabbir Rahman is known to be a T20 specialist batsman and has been the star player for his domestic side, Rajsahi.
The 24-year-old was very impressive in the Bangladesh Premier League and would be the player to watch out for.
Shakib is one of Bangladesh’s all-time greatest player and now that Bangladesh have started hitting above their weight by beating big teams frequently, the fans will have high expectations from him.
Bangladesh’s middle order has been very inconsistent and Shakib will have to bat according to match situations and hold the batting together.
Mortaza will lead the pace attack, and he will expect good support from youngsters, especially Mustafizur.
Mustafizur made an impressive ODI debut against India in 2015, hurting the visitors with two five-fors in his team’s 2-1 series win.
He also became the first Bangladeshi cricketer to break into ICC’s ODI Team of the Year and a lot will be expected of him.
Taskin is fast and accurate and is considered by many as the future of Bangladesh cricket.
With Mortaza himself a specialist seamer, it wouldn’t be surprising if Bangladesh go in with three pacers, and they have spin allrounders like Shakib, Mahmudullah and Nasir Hossain to fall back on.
Bangladesh will play India in the opening match of the tournament on February 24 and the local fans would want their team to stage an upset and start their campaign on a high.
SQUAD: Mashrafe Mortaza (c), Shakib Al Hasan, Imrul Kayes, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Soumya Sarkar, Al-Amin Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Arafat Sunny, Abu Hider, Nurul Hasan, Sabbir Rahman, Nasir Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Mohammad Mithun, Mahmudullah
COACH: Chandika Hathurusingha
STRENGTHS: Home advantage and tenacity.
WEAKNESS: Poor form in T20Is and inconsistent batting.
CHANCES: Winning against the top teams at home is no more a shocker for Bangladesh, but it’s highly unlikely that they will reach the final.
FIXTURES
February 24: Bangladesh vs India
February 26: Bangladesh vs TBC
February 28: Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka
March 2: Bangladesh vs Pakistan
BBN/SK/AD