Bangladesh will have the opportunity to improve their track record in the ICC T20 World Cup when they take part in the forthcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2024. The highly-awaited competition will be played from June 1 to 29 in the United States of America and the West Indies.
The Asian outfit is drawn in Group D along with Sri Lanka, South Africa, Nepal and the Netherlands. The top two teams from the group will qualify for the Super 8s stage and Bangladesh will have to come up with something special to progress ahead of the group stage.
They will start their campaign in the T20 World Cup on June 7 against Sri Lanka before playing against South Africa on June 10. In their last two group games, the Bangla Tigers will face the Netherlands and Nepal on June 13 and 16 respectively. And before they begin their campaign in the T20 World Cup, we are taking a look at their squad’s strength, weakness, opportunities and threat.
Bangladesh squad SWOT analysis:
Strength:
Experience:
Bangladesh have a number of players in their team who are very experienced and definitely know a thing or two about how to excel in a competition such as the ICC T20 World Cup. With form not on their side at the moment, the Bangladesh team will be relying heavily on their senior players to help them do well in the marquee event.
Mustafizur Rahman and Shakib Al Hasan:
Mustafizur Rahman and Shakib Al Hasan can decide the fate of Bangladesh in the T20 World Cup. In Mustafizur and Shakib, Bangladesh have got two world class players who can deliver against any opposition and in any conditions. The onus will be on the duo to make sure Bangladesh punch above the weight in the World Cup.
Mustafizur is coming into the World Cup on the back of a fine outing in the IPL. He finished his campaign as Chennai Super Kings’ second highest wicket-taker even though he played only 9 games. In those nine games, the left-arm pacer picked up an impressive 14 wickets. Shakib, on the other hand, has been the most decorated cricketer in the history of Bangladesh cricket and will be looking to enhance his reputation by doing well in yet another global event.
Weakness:
Inconsistent top order:
One of Bangladesh’s major concerns in the upcoming T20 World Cup will be the inconsistency of their top-order. In a format where the top order batters usually set the tone for the rest of the innings with their display in the all-important powerplay, Bangladesh have a top order that has struggled for consistency in recent times and it could cost them big in the T20 World Cup.
Litton Das and Soumya Sarkar are expected to open the innings for Bangladesh in the tournament and both have struggled to do well in recent games. Das’ scores in his last four T20I innings are – 1, 23, 12 and 14. On the other hand, Sarkar has scored 41, 7, 20, 0 and 43* during the same period. Both the batters are well experienced and need to find their best form to ensure Bangladesh get off to a good start in the World Cup games.
Lack of power hitters:
Bangladesh can rue the absence of any reputed power-hitter in their team. While the likes of Shakib and Mahmudullah as well as Towhid Hridoy can bat at a good pace, they do not really have a better who can go all out right from the start.
Over reliability on Mustafizur Rahman and Taskin Ahmed:
Bangladesh are over reliant on Mustafizur Rahman and Taskin Ahmed and it could backfire for them. Both Mustafizur and Taskin have struggled with their fitness and the latter recently missed the series against USA as well due to an injury. Bangladesh do not really have a reliable back for their star duo.
Opportunities:
The T20 World Cup will be a big opportunity for the highly-rated Towhid Hridoy to announce his arrival at the highest stage of the game. The 23-year old has impressed one and all with his talent and the World Cup is the perfect stage for him to showcase his potential. In 22 T20Is so far, he has scored 454 runs including two fifties. Overall, he has more than 2000 runs in T20s including a century and 13 half-centuries.
Threat:
Form:
Bangladesh’s form is a major concern for them at the moment and it could dent their confidence going into the World Cup. They recently suffered a shock 1-2 series loss against the USA and need to turn things around spectacularly to boost their confidence.
We at Cricket Addictor bring to you all the updates and information about the happenings of the cricketing world. Follow Cricket Addictor for more cricket news and details.
Bangladesh squad for T20 World Cup 2024:
Najmul Hossain Shanto (c), Taskin Ahmed, Litton Das, Soumya Sarkar, Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Shakib Al Hasan, Tawhid Hridoy, Mahmud Ullah Riyad, Jaker Ali Anik, Tanvir Islam, Shak Mahedi Hasan, Rishad Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam, Tanzim Hasan Sakib.
Travelling reserves: Afif Hossain, Hasan Mahmud
Bangladesh’s schedule:
- June 8: Bangladesh Vs Sri Lanka, Dallas – 6:00 AM IST
- June 10: Bangladesh Vs South Africa, New York – 8:00 PM IST
- June 13: Bangladesh Vs Netherlands, Kingstown – 8:00 PM IST
- June 17: Bangladesh Vs Nepal, Kingstown – 5:00 AM IST