T20 World Cup 2022: Ranking 5 key batters of Bangladesh ahead of mega event

With a motive to improve with every game, Bangladesh are undergoing a transformation, especially in the T20I format. Ahead of the T20 World Cup 2022, experienced batter Mushfiqur Rahim bid farewell to T20I cricket, while Mahmudullah was dropped due to inconsistent performances. In addition to that, Tamim Iqbal also hung his T20I boots in July this year.

As a result, the Bangladesh squad will be dependent on a relatively inexperienced squad to go deep in the tournament. They will be heavily reliant on their batting order to put up some impressive performances in the Super 12 stage that could propel them into the semi-finals. Here are the rankings of five key batters of Bangladesh ahead of the T20 World Cup 2022:

5. Afif Hossain

The middle-order batter has primarily been used as a floater in white-ball cricket. In most of his appearances, Afif has helped the team to recover from a bad start and given them much-needed stability. In 55 T20I innings, Afif has accumulated 908 runs at a strike rate of 120.10.

Since 2021, he has cemented his place in the T20I squad and forged crucial partnerships to help Bangladesh post competitive totals on the board. He is coming into this tournament on the back of fine performances this year. The southpaw registered his top score of 77* off 55 balls against the UAE last month.

In the recent T20I tri-series involving Pakistan and New Zealand, Afif accumulated 64 runs in four innings and was the team’s third-highest run-scorer. He is expected to play a key role in the tournament, due to his good form and positive mindset.