World Cup Teams Watch - Bangladesh: Capable of memorable upsets, Shakib Al Hasan’s unit can be a tricky customer

Bangladesh will be taking the yard for another World Cup and the most obvious objective for them will be to try and improve on their exploits which has mainly been peripheral ever since their introduction to the World Cup. A side that has improved by leaps and bounds and now boasts of quite a strong side will be hopeful of building a new era for themselves.

In 2019, however, Bangladesh had a few decent exploits of their own as they slew the likes of South Africa, West Indies and Afghanistan but went onto lose the remainder of their matches. With the controversy of Tamim Iqbal plaguing them just ahead of the World Cup, the team will be hoping to get back to their natural momentum.

The Bangladesh side is a perfect mix of experience and youth where the likes of Mahmudullah and Mushfiqur Rahim will be flanking the young U19 World Cup winning quartet of Towhid Hridoy, Tanzid Hasan, Tanzim Hasan and Shoriful Islam. More importantly this entire squadron will be led by Shakib Al Hasan, an experienced name who has been the best bet for Bangladesh for a while now.

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Bangladesh got knocked out of the Super Four stages from Asia Cup but they bowed out on a high after beating India in the final game. Following the exit from the Asia Cup, they were also humbled by New Zealand in a three-match ODI series. In the two warm-up games that they played, they secured a victory against Sri Lanka but went down against New Zealand in a rain-shortened encounter.

X-Factors:

Shakib Al Hasan

The current skipper is the highest run scorer for Bangladesh with 606 runs from eight games at an average of 86.57 but lost on support from his teammates. He smashed a crucial 80 against India in the Asia Cup fixture and that would be sparking hopes of him continuing the same gun form for the upcoming games.

Taskin Ahmed

The fast bowling ace has been in sensational form for Bangladesh with the new ball and his haul of nine wickets in the last five games that he has played will make the Bangladeshi team believe that if someone can shock the opposition early on, it has to be this youngster.

Litton Das

Face of the Bangladeshi revolution in cricket, Litton Das will obviously be a key element of the Men in Green and Red. His 61 against Sri Lanka in the warm-up match was a testimony to the kind of brilliance that he brings to the platter while his strokeplay is sensational.

Areas to work on:

Bangladesh has been a side which has lacked clarity of plans with pretty bizarre moves during the tenure of a game. From quizzical bowling maneuvers to rampant shuffles in the batting line-up in the middle of the tournament, it throws the entire side into utter disarray. If the team is capable of producing clarity that would be the most sensational thing that they can do which will also fuel the confluence of the experienced and the youth in the side.

Squad for World Cup:

Shakib Al Hasan (C), Mushfiqur Rahim (WK), Najmul Hossain Shanto (VC), Litton Das, Towhid Hridoy, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Hasan Mahmud, Shoriful Islam, Nasum Ahmed, Mahedi Hasan, Tanzid Hasan, Tanzim Hasan, Mahmudullah