Strength: Players such as captain Shakib Al Hasan, pacer Mustafizur Rahman, wicketkeeper batters Mushfiqur Rahim and Litton Das and all-rounder Mahmudullah have been around long enough to know how to handhold the team in a high-pressure event. Younger players like Najmul Shanto, their highest run-maker this year with 698 runs, Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam and Towhid Hridoy bring some vibrancy and balance into the squad. But the real strength is their spin bowling unit made up of Shakib, Mehidy Miraz, Mahedi Hasan and Nasum Ahmed who have the skills to catch their opponents napping on helpful surfaces, which they might find in India. Their pace unit led by veteran Mustafizur has some dangerous customers in Taskin, Shoriful and Hasan Mahmud, who can work up some good pace
Weaknesses: It is actually the most glaring among an array of them. For any critical situation in batting or bowling, this team has only two firefighting options: A. Shakib. B. Shakib. It is good to have an inspirational cricketer in the team but if he is the lone source of inspiration then there is an issue. They also have to decide who is going to partner with Litton Das in the opening slot. In the recent past, they have tried Tanzid Hasan, Shanto and Mehidy as openers, and Bangladesh need to zero in on at the earliest a steady second opener
Opportunities: Bangladesh have nothing to lose, and that scenario should spur them to play some fearless cricket. Young players like Towhid, Tanzid and Shoriful should take this as a chance to make their mark on the big stage
Threats: Despite their talent, Bangladesh can be a volatile side from inside, ridden with petty egos. A quick rewind to the recent war of words between Shakib and Tamim will give an idea about it. The player-player relation is often a delicate subject in their team, and it can derail them any moment
Bangladesh's first match in ICC Men's ODI World Cup 2023 is against Afghanistan on October 7th in HPCA Stadium, Dharamshala. At times, they break that barrier, but they need to do it more consistently to get a big trophy or two in their cabin
ADVERTISEMENT
.jpg "Strength: Players such as captain Shakib Al Hasan, pacer Mustafizur Rahman, wicketkeeper batters Mushfiqur Rahim and Litton Das and all-rounder Mahmudullah have been around long enough to know how to handhold the team in a high-pressure event. Younger players like Najmul Shanto, their highest run-maker this year with 698 runs, Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam and Towhid Hridoy bring some vibrancy and balance into the squad. But the real strength is their spin bowling unit made up of Shakib, Mehidy Miraz, Mahedi Hasan and Nasum Ahmed who have the skills to catch their opponents napping on helpful surfaces, which they might find in India. Their pace unit led by veteran Mustafizur has some dangerous customers in Taskin, Shoriful and Hasan Mahmud, who can work up some good pace")
