ICC World Cup 2019: Harsha Bhogle picks his Bangladesh squad for the tournament

Ever since their foray into World Cup cricket back in 1999, Bangladesh have grown leaps and bounds. Last time in 2015, they qualified to the quarter-finals against India and it turned out to be their best campaign thus far. Back in September 2017, the Tigers finished above the likes of Windies and Sri Lanka and therefore made a direct entry into next year’s World Cup, scheduled to start on Thursday, May 30.

Bangladesh would be captained by the enigmatic 35-year-old in Mashrafe Mortaza, who also led the team in 2015. They will start their journey in the mega event against the mighty South Africans on Sunday, June 2 at the Kennington Oval in London. In the meantime, Harsha Bhogle, the renowned cricket journalist, has put forth the Tigers’ squad for the tournament as per reports in Cricbuzz.

Some big names in there

Tamim Iqbal and Liton Das are the opening batsmen. Tamim returned from injury in the Windies limited-overs series and has done decently and his right-handed partner Liton has also played some scorching knocks last year. Imrul Kayes made a comeback to the national squad in the Asia Cup and ever since he has shown enough consistency to make himself a regular fixture in the national team.

Shakib Al Hasan has been battling a finger injury but is expected to play a key role. Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah are the fulcrums of the lineup. The hard-hitting Soumya Sarkar also found a place in Bhogle’s lineup. Mohammad Mithun, being a versatile batsman, adds value to the team. Bhogle also included Mosaddek Hossain, who hasn’t played after the Asia Cup, in the squad.

Despite his topsy-turvy journey in international cricket in the last few months, Sabbir Rahman made his way into the team. The onus would be on the experienced Mashrafe, Mustafizur Rahman and the young Mohammad Saifuddin in the fast bowling department. Harsha selected only one specialist spinner in Mehidy Hasan Miraz, who can get some handy runs as well, batting lower down the order.

Here is the squad

Tamim Iqbal, Liton Das, Imrul Kayes, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah, Soumya Sarkar, Mohammad Mithun, Sabbir Rahman, Mosaddek Hossain, Mashrafe Mortaza (C), Mustafizur Rahman, Rubel Hossain, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Mohammad Saifuddin

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