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Bangladesh's absence of legendary all-rounder Shakib al Hasan, an in-form core, lack of winning momentum, and inability to defend totals well are some talking points as they kickstart their ICC Champions Trophy campaign on Thursday.
Bangladesh will kickstart their CT campaign against India on Thursday in Dubai, followed by matches against New Zealand (February 24) and Pakistan (February 27) at Rawalpindi, respectively. *Bilateral form Heading into the Champions Trophy, Bangladesh has participated in four bilateral series, winning just one of those against Sri Lanka at home. Their record away from home is particularly bad, having lost all three series so far away from home. Out of 12 ODIs, they have won just four and eight. A look into their bilateral form: Bangladesh tour of New Zealand (lost 1-2), Sri Lanka tour of Bangladesh (won 2-1), Afghanistan vs Bangladesh in UAE (lost 1-2), Bangladesh tour of West Indies (lost 3-0) *Positives: -Plenty of in-form batters: In Soumya Sarkar, skipper Najmul Hossein Shanto, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Mahmadullah, and Mushfiqur Rahim, Bangladesh has three to four extremely reliable batters who can give Bangladesh the totals it needs. -'X factor of Mehidy': In the absence of veteran Shakib Ali Hasan, Bangladesh has an extremely capable spin bowling all-rounder who can turn matches on its head on his day. -In-form pacers: The team's frontline pacers, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman and Shoriful Islam, have enjoyed a solid run of form in their matches, and teams do need to play them with utmost caution. *Negatives -Absence of Shakib: This will be the first tournament in a long while in which Bangladesh will be playing without their experienced all-rounder Shakib, who has not been included in the team. Bangladesh will miss his big-match experience and presence. -Poor history in ICC tournaments: Bangladesh has struggled to make a mark in ICC tournaments except for the semifinals of the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy. The memories of this poor run could come back to haunt them, causing them to deviate from their natural game. -Lack of winning momentum: Winning momentum is an underrated factor. It always keeps teams in good spirits, eager to play their natural game. However, with just four wins in the last 12 ODIs, Bangladesh head to CT as a unit that does not look very threatening. -Poor ability to defend totals: Heading into the World Cup, Bangladesh have lost six of their eight matches while defending the total and won just once. However, while chasing, they have a better track record, with three wins and two losses. *Top performers from the 2023 World Cup end till now: Top run-getters: Soumya Sarkar (430 runs in 11 innings at an average of 43.00, with a century and two fifties), Najmul Hossein Shanto (358 in eight innings at an average of 59.66, with a century and two fifties), Mehidy Hasan Miraz (352 runs in 10 innings at an average of 39.77, with three fifties), Mahmudullah (337 runs in nine innings at an average of 48.14, with four fifties) and Tanzid Hassan (234 runs in seven innings at an average of 33.42, with two fifties) Top wicket-takers: Taskin Ahmed (14 wickets in seven matches at an average of 23.92), Shoriful Islam (13 wickets in 10 matches at an average of 34.30), Mustafizur Rahman (11 wickets in six matches at an average of 24.27), Mehidy Hasan Miraz (nine wickets in 12 matches at an average of 56.22) and Tanzim Hasan (eight wickets in six innings at an average of 34.25) Bangladesh squad for CT2025: Najmul Hossain Shanto (c), Soumya Sarkar, Tanzid Hasan, Tawhid Hridoy, Mushfiqur Rahim, MD Mahmud Ullah, Jaker Ali Anik, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Rishad Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Parvez Hossain Emon, Nasum Ahmed, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Nahid Rana. (ANI)
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