Asia Cup 2018: Super Four, Match 4, Afghanistan vs Bangladesh- Bangladesh Predicted XI

Bangladesh came in the 2018 Asia Cup as the losing finalists of the event the last time around. Mashrafe Mortaza’s men were expected to put up a fight against the other teams and they did exactly the same in the first match against Sri Lanka. However, they couldn’t replicate their performance against Afghanistan in a Group B-match and subsequently India in the Super 4 stage.

The Tigers’ upcoming match against Afghanistan at Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi is a crucial encounter for them as a defeat will virtually knock them out, albeit mathematically they will have an outside chance. Moreover, they will be looking to win their first match against Asghar Afghan and Co in the Asia Cup. In our article, we take a look at their predicted eleven for the next match.

Openers (Imrul Kayes, Soumya Sarkar)

After Tamim Iqbal’s departure owing to a fractured wrist, Bangladesh have strained at the top of the order. Liton Das and Nazmul Hossain Shanto haven’t been able to impress one bit. The Tigers have added Imrul Kayes and Soumya Sarkar, both left-handers, and they are most likely to open the batting in place of Das and Nazmul, something which won’t spring a surprise one bit.

However, both Sarkar and Kayes last played ODI cricket during Bangladesh’s tour of South Africa back in October 2017. After their lacklustre shows in the series, they were sidelined and would be keen to get some substantial scores under their belt and most importantly, help the Tigers arrest their slump and put their best foot forward in the next two matches of the ongoing stage.

All-rounders (Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Mohammad Mithun)

Mushfiqur Rahim commenced the tournament with a herculean knock against Sri Lanka and garnered accolades for his temperament to perform under pressure. But en route the knock, he didn’t take the field and was thereafter rested for the second encounter against Afghanistan. The pocket-size dynamite looked in excellent touch against India in the last match in Dubai.

Nevertheless, the wicketkeeper-batsman would wish to forget the shot he played to give his wicket away to Ravindra Jadeja. Mohammad Mithun has flattered to deceive in the last two matches after his impressive fifty in the tournament opener. Both need to take responsibility and smother the bowling after the fielding restrictions when the spinners are likely to be in operation.

All-rounders (Shakib Al Hasan, Mahmudullah, Mosaddek Hossain)

Shakib has arguably been the greatest cricketer Bangladesh have ever produced. In the current event, he has delivered punches with his left-arm orthodox bowling but is yet to spit the same venom with the bat. Lasith Malinga pinned him with an unplayable Yorker in the first contest. The Jessore-born all-rounder became Rashid Khan’s victim against Afghanistan.

He was looking ominous against India with a flurry of boundaries but played one shot too many to give Ravindra Jadeja his first wicket following his comeback after a year. Mahmudullah has looked good in patches, nevertheless, being a senior player, he somehow needs to bring forth his A-game. 22-year-old Mosaddek Hossain Saikat hasn’t been up to the mark either.

Bowlers (Mashrafe Mortaza, Mehidy Hasan, Mustafizur Rahman, Rubel Hossain)

The bowling department did a stupendous job task against Angelo Mathews and Co. To their dismay, in their next two matches, the bowlers have been put under the cosh and they have leaked runs. The killer instinct has been missing, which is why opponents, especially Afghanistan and India, haven’t found it difficult to counter them. Mashrafe Mortaza has been taken for quite a few runs.

Left-arm seamer Mustafizur Rahman hasn’t looked at his best by any means and hasn’t been able to pose the same threat he is known for. Rubel Hossain has bowled with sheer pace, but yet another bowler, who hasn’t picked up a whole lot of wickets. Mehidy Hasan has been the most economical and though he has only picked up one wicket, the tweaker has shown accuracy in line and lengths.

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