T20 World Cup 2022: SWOT analysis of Bangladesh squad

While many teams look forward to playing the upcoming T20 World Cup 2022 with full confidence, the same can not be said about Bangladesh, at least not for now, given their poor form in recent outings. Things have just not worked for them. Bangladesh are placed alongside India, Pakistan, South Africa, the Netherlands and Zimbabwe.

Bangladesh’s campaign at the mega event begins on October 24 when they take on the Netherlands at the Bellerive Oval in Hobart. The good thing that happened for Bangladesh this year was a direct entry into the Super 12, unlike last year where they had to clear the First Round to find a spot in the Super 12.

And this year, it doesn’t look like the team members have learned anything from their past mistakes. They started off the calendar year on a high note, but they have not been able to perform consistently. Be it the Asia Cup 2022, or the recently concluded T20I tri-series against hosts New Zealand and Pakistan. Bangladesh failed to win a single game on both occasions.

Frequent changes in their playing combinations, changes in the team management- with the captain and coach changing, players losing their spot in the team due to poor form, and all such instances have just added to Bangladesh’s misery. With little time remaining ahead of their campaign opener, will Bangladesh be able to get their stuff sorted?

Strengths:

Spinners' stranglehold:

One of the few good things for Bangladesh is that they can trust their spinners in Australian conditions. Their skipper Shakib Al Hasan will lead the bowling attack. Bangladesh fans will rest their hopes on Mehidy Hasan, Nasum Ahmed, and Mosaddek Hossain and will be rooting for them to do well in the tournament.

Mehidy has been in tremendous form in red-ball cricket. Though he hasn’t played many T20Is of late, learnings of Test cricket always prove to be useful in other formats.

Shakib Al Hasan - A majestic all-rounder:

The biggest trump card that Bangladesh have with them is their skipper Shakib. A proper dependable all-rounder who can be equally effective with the bat and the ball. He is not just the leading run-scorer for Bangladesh in T20Is, but also the leading wicket-taker in the format for Bangladesh with 122 wickets to his name.

He is also the joint-highest wicket-taker in T20Is, sharing the achievement with New Zealand’s Tim Southee. Shakib is an advantage for the team as he is the only player among the whole group to have the valuable experience of playing in Australian conditions. The vast experience that he brings to the team will be the determining factor for the Bangla Tigers.

Weaknesses:

Unsettled playing combination:

One major reason that has caused Bangladesh’s downfall in the recent past is the number of changes they have made to their starting line-up. Multiple changes in a team lead to a break in the flow and momentum of players. And that is what has been happening with Bangladesh. They’re trying and testing multiple options, which brings an imbalance to their order, creating an adverse impact on both the batting and the bowling departments.

Clarity of roles:

One of Bangladesh’s biggest woe is their top-order combination. It has stretched to such an extent, that fans have now started guessing which player will open the batting order for them. Bangladesh's opening combinations haven't been particularly fruitful. In 2022, up to ten opening pairs were tried and tested. There were four distinct top combinations for as many games in the recent tri-series against Pakistan and New Zealand.

Three of the games featured Najmul Hossain Shanto as the team's opening batter. Initially, Sabbir Rahman was asked to open, but Soumya Sarkar joined Shanto in the top order after some Rahman's poor outings. Mehidy, who often bats between positions seven and nine but things were different during the Asia Cup 2022. Thus, roles are not clear.

Mushfiqur Rahim’s retirement:

Just a couple of days after Bangladesh crashed out of the Asia Cup 2022, Mushfiqur Rahim announced his retirement from the shortest format of the game, and it created a massive void in the middle-order. It was a second blow to Bangladesh as earlier this year, Tamim Iqbal also hung his T20I boots to focus on ODIs and Tests.

Heading into T20 World Cup, Bangladesh's middle order seems vulnerable due to the absence of seasoned Rahim. Finding a replacement for the experienced player has not been an easy task for Shakib, and the team still looks to fill that void.

Opportunity:

Young players rising up to the opportunities tossed towards them is surely an advantage for Bangladesh. The players who want to make a name for themselves at the global level will look to make the most out of the mega event.

Up-and-coming players like Mosaddek Hossain and Afif Hossain will be determined to take their team all the way. After all, there has to be a reason why the Bangladesh Cricket Board named a 23-year-old Afif as Shakib’s deputy for the Asia Cup 2022.

Apart from that, players like Mustafizur Rahman and Shakib are on the verge of reaching some milestones. Shakib Al Hasan needs three sixes to reach 50 maximums in T20Is, and nine wickets to reach 50 wickets in T20 World Cups. On the other hand, Mustafizur needs six wickets to reach 100 T20I wickets in his career.

Threats:

The biggest threat looming over Bangladesh is that not a single player, out of the bunch of 15, has ever played a T20 international in Australia. They have never won a single game in the Super 12 stage of any editions of the T20 World Cup, and the tournament being in Australia adds to their misery.

Shakib has played in Australia when he represented the Melbourne Renegades during the Big Bash League, which might prove useful for the team to understand the pitches given Shakib’s experience.

In addition to Shakib, Nurul Hasan, a wicketkeeper-batter who served as Bangladesh's stand-in captain during the Zimbabwe tour will be a potential player to play the finisher's role. He has scored 167 runs this year. Also, Litton Das, who has 417 runs in 2022 will be expected to give the batting unit a boost.