Bangladesh ready for the Afghan challenge

With just three months to go before the ICC World Cup 2023 begins, the time for experiments with the playing XI is nearly up for Bangladesh.

In theory, Bangladesh should already know what XI they will field on 7 October in Dharamsala in their opening match of the World Cup against Afghanistan.

To be fair, the outline of what the XI would look like on that day is already quite clear as several slots in the team look to be set in stone. However, there is still a position or two up for grabs.

So, in Bangladesh’s three-match One-Day International (ODI) series against Afghanistan, which begins in Chattogram on Wednesday, the Tigers will have three clear objectives in mind– finalise the remaining spots, try out a few backups and defeat the Afghans.

The match, which will be played at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium and will begin at 2:00pm, will serve as a good test for the hosts who are flying high after back-to-back ODI series wins against Ireland at home and away.

The series wins against Ireland were emphatic and gave the Tamim Iqbal-led side a boost in confidence after losing to England 1-2 at home in ODIs.

After losing to Bangladesh, the Irish team took part in the ICC World Cup qualifier in Zimbabwe where they fared poorly.

The Irish lost three out of their four matches and were eliminated from the group stage of the competition. Ireland’s poor performance in the qualifiers’ begs the question– is the Bangladesh ODI team not as good as they think they are?

The series against Afghanistan, who are one of the eight teams that have automatically qualified for the World Cup, could answer this question.

The Afghan team, led by Hashmatullah Shahidi, boasts of a strong spin attack spearheaded by maverick leg-spinner Rashid Khan. They also have explosive batters like Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Najibullah Zadran and Mohammad Nabi in the mix.

Bangladesh thrashed Afghanistan in the one-off Test last month, where the hosts won by 546 runs, the biggest win in Tests in the past 89 years.

But in white-ball cricket, Afghanistan are a dangerous side and Bangladesh will have to be extremely vigilant if they are to overcome the Afghan challenge.

The series against Afghanistan will kick-start a busy three-month period for Bangladesh leading up to the ODI World Cup in India.

Bangladesh will play three ODIs against Afghanistan followed by a three-match Twenty20 series against the same opponents. They will then take part in the Asia Cup in Pakistan and Sri Lanka. At the Asia Cup, they can play three to seven matches, depending on how far they can go in the tournament. After that, New Zealand will come to Bangladesh to play three ODIs.

So, leading up to the World Cup, Bangladesh have 9-13 ODIs left. Out of them, Bangladesh won’t be experimenting with their XI in the Asia Cup, a tournament the Tigers hope to win.

Other than the Asia Cup, Bangladesh have only six ODIs left before the showcase event in India, which leaves very little scope for someone like Afif Hossain and Mohammad Naim, who have been recalled to the national team, to get some playing time and warrant a position in the World Cup squad.

Skipper Tamim also accepted the reality and said there is nothing much the management could do about it at this point, “Suppose, during an important match in the World Cup, if any of us isn’t fit and if we play Afif and Naim instead, it won’t be very fair to them as well. It would be good if we can give them some game time. But we are in a situation where after this series we will have to play in the Asia Cup, and everyone wants to win the Asia Cup.

“If there is an opportunity, we will (give them), if not they will just have to be ready for whenever the opportunity comes.”

The top six names in the Bangladesh team sheet are almost set in stone. Captain Tamim will open the innings with Liton Das. The openers will be followed to the crease by Najmul Hossain Shanto, Shakib Al Hasan, Towhid Hridoy and Mushfiqur Rahim.

However, the No.7 position in the batting line-up is still uncertain. In the last series, Bangladesh tried all-rounder Mehidy Hasan Miraz in that slot.

Playing Miraz at No.7 gives Bangladesh an extra bowling option, but it also lengthens Bangladesh’s tail, which is never a good thing.

The other option for that position is Afif. Picking the Southpaw would increase the team’s batting depth as then Miraz would come to bat at No.8. But at the same time, it would reduce one bowler from the XI.

This is the biggest point of contention in the Bangladesh playing XI, accepted Tamim. The management has seemingly already made up their minds on which way they will go in the first ODI. However, Tamim chose not to reveal it a day before the match.

“When you see the playing XI tomorrow (Wednesday), you will get an idea about what combination we are going for, whether we are going with an extra batter or going with an extra bowler, which we did in the last series. The combination usually depends on the opposition and the opposition’s strength. That’s how we will decide it.”