Get the inside scoop on Bangladesh's Cricket Squad for the upcoming GameDay Squad competition with an in-depth analysis and preview. Find out who to watch out for!
Bangladesh turns up at the 2023 CWC with probably the best squad that I’ve seen at a World Cup. I don’t think they will make it through to the knockout stages, but they have the team to cause an upset or two.
Squad
Nasum Ahmed – Bowler
Taskin Ahmed – Bowler
Shakib Al Hasan – All-rounder
Litton Das – Wicket-Keeper
Mehedi Hasan – All-rounder
Mehidy Hasan – All-rounder
Tanzid Hasan – Batter
Tanzim Hasan Sakib - Bowler
Towhid Hridoy - Batter
Najmul Hossain Shanto – Batter
Shoriful Islam – Bowler
Hasan Mahmud – Bowler
Mahmudullah – All-rounder
Mushfiqur Rahim – Wicket-Keeper
Mustafizur Rahman – Bowler
Batters
After looking at the recent form for all the Bangladesh players with a batter position designation, only Najmul Hossain Shanto shows any form from a fantasy perspective. When applying the GDS scoring to their stats over the last ten games played, I’ve come up with the following fantasy point averages for the batters.
Tanzid Hasan – 9 points
Towhid Hridoy – 27 points
Najmul Hossain Shanto – 74 points
Shanto has been Bangladesh’s in form batsman over the last year. Over his last 10 ODIs he’s scored two 100s, three 50s, two 30+ scores and three scores of less than 12. The three innings where he scored 12 or less do concern me but when you compare his recent form to the form of Hasan and Hridoy, it’s light and day between Shanto and the other two.
Bowlers
Bangladesh goes into the tournament with six players that have a bowler position designation in GDS. When applying the GDS scoring to their stats over the last ten games played, I’ve come up with the following fantasy point averages for the bowlers.
Nasum Ahmed – 75 points
Taskin Ahmed – 94 points
Tanzim Hasan Sakib – 57 points
Shoriful Islam – 71 points
Hasan Mahmud – 59 points
Mustafizur Rahman – 62 points
Bangladesh has a well-balanced bowling attack that will likely be spearheaded by Taskin Ahmed, Islam and Rahman. Over Taskin Ahmed’s last ten ODIs he has bowled 73.3 overs, taken 20 wickets and averages 3.8 dot balls an over. Over Islam’s last ten ODIs he has bowled 75.4 overs, taken 17 wickets and averages 3.7 dot balls an over. Over Rahman’s last ten ODIs he has bowled 74.1 overs, taken 15 wickets and averages 3.3 dot balls an over. These three bowlers are the pick of the Bangladesh bowlers for me. Nasum Ahmed and Hasan Mamud are in my next tier down as I don’t think they will start as much as the other three. They can be very useful cards to have as they may have their chance for a few starts but that depends on what the pitch conditions Bangladesh are faced with. I’m fading Hasan Sakib as he has only two ODI’s caps to his name and is likely not to have a big role even if he does get a start.
All-rounders
Bangladesh doesn’t have as many all-rounders as other teams and head into the tournament with four players that have the all-rounder position designation in GDS. All of them are spin bowling all-rounders. When applying the GDS scoring to their stats over the last ten games played, I’ve come up with the following fantasy point averages for the all-rounders.
Shakib Al Hasan – 88 points
Mahmudullah – 42 points
Mehedi Hasan – 64 points
Mehidy Hasan – 63 points
When choosing which all-rounder to play in your squad it really depends on where Bangladesh is playing, who their opposition is and the pitch conditions. The all-rounders that I like are Al Hasan and Mehidy Hasan, as it seems that these players are likely to bat in the top 6 for most matches.
Over Al Hasan’s last ten ODSs he has scored two 50s, two 30+ scores, six scores between 3-26, bowled 77.3 overs, taken 7 wickets and averages 3.5 dot balls an over. Over Meheidy Hasan’s last ten ODSs he has scored one 100, one 30+ scores, six scores between 5-28, one duck, bowled 61 overs, taken 7 wickets and averages 3 dot balls an over.
Mahmudullah and Mehedi Hasan are both bowling all-rounders. It’s likely that I won’t be selecting them for my starting squad too much as they just don’t bat high enough up the order to provide the ceiling that Al Hasan and Mehidy Hasan can.
Wicket Keeper
Litton Das and Mushfiqur Rahim are the two Bangladesh players that have a wicket keeper position designation in GDS. On the field Rahim is the keeper and this makes him the clear number one. When applying the GDS scoring to their stats over the last ten games played, I’ve come up with the following fantasy point averages for the wicket keepers.
Litton Das – 30 points
Mushfiqur Rahim – 48 points
I’m predicting that Rahim will be batting at six but might not spend as much time at the crease as Das due to Das likely opening the batting. If you have a Das card it may come in handy if Rahim was to miss a game. Until then, he isn’t an option in my opinion if you hold both of their cards.
Predicted Starting XI
1. Tanzid Hasan
2. Litton Das
3. Mehidy Hasan
4. Najmul Hossain Shanto
5. Shakib Al Hasan
6. Mushfiqur Rahim
7. Towhid Hridoy
8. Mahmudullah
9. Taskin Ahmed
10. Shoriful Islam
11. Mustafizur Rahman