Bangladesh made its first appearance in an ODI World Cup during the 1999 edition and has featured in the marquee event ever since. They managed to reach the knockout stages during the 2007 and 2015 editions. However, in the last edition, Bangladesh managed to win just 3 of the 9 matches and were eliminated during the group stage itself.
Over the last 4 years, the Bangladesh cricket team has taken some big strides, especially in the limited overs format, and have transformed themselves from being called minnows to becoming a force to reckon with.
Bangladesh finished third on the Super League points table, ahead of teams like Australia, South Africa, Pakistan, and India.
Bangladesh has never been a force to reckon with in the white-ball format and we think the new format of having to play every team once makes it tougher for it to reach the knockouts.
Consistency is not something that you associate with Bangladesh, yet, in subcontinent conditions, it is a dangerous opponent and one that every team will be wary of.
Batsmen
Najmul Hossain Shanto
Towhid Hridoy
Mohammad Naim
All-rounders
Shakib Al Hasan (c)
Mahedi Hasan
Mehidy Hasan MIraz
Wicketkeepers
Mushfiqur Rahim
Litton Das
Bowlers
Taskin Ahmed
Mustafizur Rahman
Hasan Mahmud
Tanzim Hasan Sakib
Nasum Ahmed
The bowling will be one of the biggest strengths for Bangladesh in this tournament. Bangladesh bowlers have taken 335 wickets in 45 ODI matches since the 2019 World Cup, which is the third-highest among the teams featuring in this edition.
The bowling average of 27.88 and the strike rate of 33.20 are the best among all teams, which is a big plus. Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam, and Taskin Ahmed make up for an excellent pace attack, while Shakib Al-Hasan and Mehidy Hasan Miraz are among the most economical spinners in the Asian countries.
Shakib is the top-ranked all-rounder in ODIs, while Miraz is 8th according to latest ICC rankings. The dynamic leadership of Shakib, who brings in a wealth of experience, is a bonus.
Bangladesh is a team that is chalk and cheese in subcontinent conditions and abroad. In India, they are going to be tough to beat and their bowlers will look to exploit any spin or slowness on offer.
Despite having a strong set of players, Bangladesh has often struggled to steer itself out of tricky situations. The team will need to hold its nerve, especially as they face some of the stronger teams during the group stages.
Also, Bangladesh has been hit by a spate of injuries to some of its key players.
The performance of some of the batsmen, including Litton Das, Mohammad Naim, and Towhid Hridoy hasn’t been consistent enough and the team will require them to play more responsibly.
Simply put, Bangladesh just does not compete with the leading teams in terms of power. They do not post 300+ totals as often as teams like India, Australia, or England. They struggle in chasing big totals and seem to lack the confidence to be able to clear the boundaries in the middle overs.
7-10-23 Bangladesh vs Afghanistan HPCA Stadium, Dharamsala
10-10-23 Bangladesh vs England HPCA Stadium, Dharamsala
13-10-23 Bangladesh vs New Zealand MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
19-10-23 Bangladesh vs India MCA Stadium, Pune
24-10-23 Bangladesh vs South Africa Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
28-10-23 Bangladesh vs Netherlands Eden Gardens, Kolkata
31-10-23 Bangladesh vs Pakistan Eden Gardens, Kolkata
6-11-23 Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka Arun Jaitley Stadium, New Delhi
11-11-23 Bangladesh vs Australia MCA Stadium, Pune
Contrary to what most people believe, we don’t think the venues that Bangladesh plays in during the 2023 World Cup will end up favoring it. Seven of its matches are being played in venues (Mumbai, Dharamshala, Mumbai, and Pune) where the ball will bounce, seam, or end up being high-scoring.
These are not conditions that Bangladesh enjoys. In fact, we don’t think that they will get much help for their spinners in Chennai either because they play there quite early in the tournament.
Bangladesh can (and probably will) cause some upsets but we don’t see a realistic chance for it to qualify for the semi-finals. A couple of matches that it may target could include New Zealand in Chennai, Australia in Pune, and Sri Lanka at New Delhi.
Najmul Hossain Shanto had to leave the Asia Cup midway due to a hamstring injury and is recovering from the same. Tamim Iqbal has been out of action for quite some time now due to a back problem. However, both of them are likely to get fit in time for the World Cup. Ebadot Hossain is set to miss the tournament due to knee surgery.
Top-scorer in 2023
Najmul Hossain Shanto is the leading run-scorer for Bangladesh this year. He has scored 622 runs at an average of 47.84. His knocks include 2 centuries and 4 half-centuries.
Top wicket-taker in 2023
Taskin Ahmed has picked up 21 wickets in 11 matches and is the leading wicket-taker for the team. He has an excellent average of 16.85 and a strike rate of 23.57.
Most runs: Mushfiqur Rahim
Mushfiqur Rahim is one of the most experienced batsmen in the Bangladesh squad and will be playing his 5th World Cup. He has scored a total of 877 runs so far at an average of 38.13. He is in good form of late and is averaging over 48 this year. We are therefore backing him to score the most runs for Bangladesh.
Most wickets: Shakib Al-Hasan
Shakib Al-Hasan is the most successful bowler for Bangladesh in ODI World Cups and has picked up 34 wickets to date. With the pitches in India expected to aid the spinners, we think that Shakib has an excellent chance of topping the bowling charts for his country.
