ICC World Cup 2019 – Match 12: ENG vs BAN – Bangladesh Predicted Playing XI

If you were one of those who felt Bangladesh wouldn’t make it into the top four, you might have to reconsider your thoughts. The team has played two games in the tournament thus far. On both instances, they put up great fights and made quite a statement. While they managed to win against South Africa, the team gave a tough fight to New Zealand and nearly pulled a win off.

However, they were a few runs short and thus failed to get over the line. A much bigger challenge awaits for Bangladesh in their next game. They will be facing England on Saturday and it will be a tough battle. The Brits are surely wounded after their loss against Pakistan and will come hard at Bangladesh. The Asian team could make some amends to their eleven for the next game to bolster their side.

Here is the Predicted Playing XI for Bangladesh:

Openers (Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar)

The opening pair has caused a slight concern for Bangladesh in the last two games. Tamim Iqbal is yet to find his form in the tournament. The left-hander registered scores of 16 and 29 in both the games so far and was slightly slow to get off the blocks. He should be more cautious with his shot selection and should look to play the long innings.

Soumya Sarkar, meanwhile, has been getting the team off to some aggressive starts. While he scored at a strike rate of 140 against South Africa, his strike rate was 100 against the Kiwis. But he hasn’t been able to get those big scores despite being in such excellent form. Just like Tamim, Sarkar should also be a little more selective with his shots. They will, without a doubt, be tested against the strong English pace attack.

Middle Order (Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Sabbir Rahman)

Shakib Al Hasan, more than with the ball, has been effective with the willow in hand. The Southpaw registered two consecutive half-centuries already and has been a pillar for this batting attack. Shakib though should aim for the triple figures in the next game as it won’t be easy against the brutal English batting line-up. Mushfiqur Rahim will bat at number four in this order.

The wicket-keeper batsman was sloppy behind the stumps last game and unfortunate with the bat as well. There was a terrible misunderstanding between him and Shakib. Ultimately, Mushfiqur had to pay the price and was run out. Being the senior player in the side, he cannot afford such mistakes and should be circumspect against England. In the middle order, Bangladesh is likely to rope Sabbir Rahman into the eleven instead of Mohammad Mithun. While Sabbir is good with the bat, he also bowls some useful leg-spin.

All Rounders (Mahmudullah Riyad, Mosaddek Hossain, Mehidy Hasan, Mohammad Saifuddin)

Mahmudullah and Mosaddek Hossain got to starts, took time to get there in and built a good platform to launch later. However, they couldn’t execute the plans leaving the team in troubles. While Mahmuddulah didn’t get to a bowl, Mosaddek did a fair job. He picked up two New Zealand wickets which included the likes of Ross Taylor and James Neesham.

Mehidy Hasan also picked up two wickets in the last game and did a good job. By dismissing Kane Williamson and Latham, he put the opposition under great pressure. But these two off-spinners didn’t just have enough runs to defend. Mohammad Saifuddin has been excellent in all the three departments of the game. He could even bat slightly up the order in the next game. With the ball, he executes his yorkers and variations well but consistency will be the key.

Bowlers (Mashrafe Mortaza (c), Mustafizur Rahman)

Bangladesh skipper Mashrafe Mortaza has been excellent on the field in terms of marshalling his troops. However, his bowling of late has been a huge disappointment. The veteran cricketer only managed to pick 3 wickets in the last five outings and is yet to open his account in the World Cup. Moreover, Mortaza has also been slightly expensive and should find some form back sooner rather than later.

Mustafizur Rahman, on the contrary, has done really well. The left-arm pacer is executing the plans exceptionally well and is executing the slower balls well. He has done a fair job bowling at the death and has got 9 wickets in the last 5 ODI games. It would be interesting to see if he will be able to stop the dangerous England batsmen.