World T20 2021| Experienced Bangladesh seek positive start

“Stealing a win from the jaws of defeat” is a prominent saying, especially in sports. But for Bangladesh, the fortunes have been a little different. There have been instances where the Bangladesh side has failed to keep the nerves and suffered defeats from the position where they were well set for easy wins. 

Their encounter against India in the World T20 2016 where the Bangla Tigers failed to score 2 runs off the last three deliveries is the best possible example of the same. Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah gave away their wickets while taking the aerial route and the rest was done by MS Dhoni and his swift running and great presence of mind. 

Dhoni was involved in Mustafizur Rahman’s runout who was running towards the striker’s end for a single to take the match in the Super Over. There have been multiple instances of the same where Bangladesh have just let go of a game from their hands. 

But if they had lost matches from winning positions, the Bangla Tigers have been involved in some major upsets too. They defeated Pakistan in the 1999 edition of the 50-over World Cup, India in 2007 in the group stage and South Africa in the Super 8s, England in 2011 and 2015, South Africa and West Indies in 2019. Apart from this, they do have some bilateral series wins under their belt as well. 

Having said that, Bangladesh will have to battle it out in the qualifying stage to make it to the Super 12s in the World T20 2021. 

Bangladesh begin the campaign against Scotland in Al Amerat on October 17, 2021 (Sunday) which is also the second match of the opening day of the tournament. The Asian side will then lock horns with Oman on October 19, 2021 and PNG on October 21 at the same venue. 

The side will be led by Mahmudullah while the squad comprises the likes of Mushfiqur Rahim, Mustafizur, Shakib Al Hasan, Soumya Sarkar and Taskin Ahmed. 

Team News 

The opening batsman Tamim Iqbal had opted out of the tournament earlier stating that it would be unfair to the players who have been playing regularly in the side for quite some time while he has been away after the left-handed batsman had hurt his knee during Sri Lanka tour. 

"I don't think my injury is a concern, because I think I'd be fit before the World Cup. The main reason is I don't think it would be fair on those players who have played in the last 15-16 T20 matches that I haven't played,” he said. 

Though Tamim made it clear that he wasn’t retiring from T20Is. 

Experience is all that matters

The likes of Rahim, Shakib and even Mustafizur are probably the most experienced players in the Bangladesh unit. Rahim would have the onus of anchoring the innings for the side as he has the ability to hold the fort at one end while the other batters can chip in with some runs and build partnerships with him to hand the team a good total. 

The expectations would be a bit high from Shakib and Mustafizur as the two players are in the groove as they were a part of the Indian Premier League held in UAE. While Shakib’s side KKR has made it to the final, Rajasthan Royals for whom Mustafizur plays gave a tough fight but eventually bowed out of the tournament in the league stage itself. 

The team management and the fans would expect Shakib to produce some impressive performances both with the bat and ball. The left-handed all-rounder is capable of picking up wickets consistently while can chip in with important runs just like he scored a four against RCB in the eliminator match to help his side reduce the pressure and eventually win the game. 

Mustafizur on the other side has been pretty successful in deceiving the batsmen with the slow deliveries and if he continues to do so, the opponents’ batting unit would struggle against him. 

Apart from these three, skipper Mahmudullah, Liton Das, Sarkar and Taskin Ahmed are other prominent names in the line up. 

Batting - A concern 

The Bangladesh side might struggle in capitalising on the good starts that they get. The power-hitting in the middle-overs can become an area of concern for the team management and probably this would be the time when the Bangla tigers would need their skipper going all guns blazing. 

Mahmudullah is one of the batsmen in the unit who can take on the bowlers, fire all cylinders and fetch some quick runs. 

Bangladesh have never won a World T20 and would seek a positive start when they take the field on Sunday. 

SQUAD: Mahmudullah Riyad (Captain), Mohammad Naim, Soumya Sarkar, Litton Das, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Afif Hossain, Nurul Hasann, Mahedi Hasan, Nasum Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Taskin Ahmed, Shamim Hossain, Rubel Hossain, Mohammad Saifuddin, Shoriful Islam

Reserve: Rubel Hossain, Aminul Islam Biplob