T20 World Cup 2021: Strongest Bangladesh Predicted Playing XI against Sri Lanka

Bangladesh didn’t make a direct qualification to the Super 12s of the T20 World Cup 2021 due to their low rankings. However, three series wins over Zimbabwe, Australia and New Zealand made sure that the Tigers went into the mega event as ICC’s No.6 ranked team in the T20I format.

They didn’t make a great start after Kyle Coetzer’s Scotland beat them by six runs at Al Amerat. But victories against Papua New Guinea and Oman made sure that Bangladesh finished Group B in the second position.

But in the Super 12s, Mahmudullah’s men are expected to face much stiffer competition. The Asian team has been excellent on tracks, which are conducive to spin bowling and it won’t be a surprised if they field quite a few tweakers against Sri Lanka in Sharjah on October 24.

Here is Bangladesh’s predicted Playing XI for SL vs BAN Match:

Openers- Liton Das, Mohammad Naim

Liton Das has blown hot and cold in the tournament despite having a load of potential on the shoulders. He knows the art of finding the boundary with utmost ease, but he tends to get carried away with his stroke-making. He got off to good starts, but failed to convert them into big scores.

Mohammad Naim, on the other hand, came into the team against Oman in place of Soumya Sarkar. In his very first outing against Oman, he scored a half-century, albeit he got a duck against PNG. The left-hander has shown a lot of consistency and he needs to be on top of his game versus Lanka.

Middle-Order- Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah, Nurul Hasan (wk), Afif Hossain Dhrubo 

Mushfiqur Rahim’s form is a massive reason of concern for the Tigers, but he remains a key member of their batting lineup. The Bogra-born wasn’t amongst the runs in the series against Australia and New Zealand. Mahmudullah got a quickfire fifty last time and he should be high on confidence.

Nurul Hasan Sohan played a decent knock against Oman A in one of the warm-up games and he needs to step up. Afif Hossain Dhrubo can hit the big shots with a lot of consistency. Moreover, he can also bowl handy off-breaks, although he’s yet to roll his arms over in the tournament.

All-rounders- Shakib Al Hasan, Mohamamd Saifuddin, Mahedi Hasan

Shakib Al Hasan got the Player of the Match in the last game. He got runs in all three matches and also gave his team crucial breakthroughs at critical stage of the games. If the Tigers aspire to go beyond the Super 12, the Magura-born veteran can’t afford to drop his guard by any means.

Mohamamd Saifuddin played a six-ball 19 against PNG coming low down the order. He has also picked up wickets at regular intervals. Mahedi Hasan was excellent in the game against Scotland. But the Tigers need to figure out his batting position, which has been shuffled way too often.

Bowlers- Nasum Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman

Bangladesh should get Nasum Ahmed into the eleven in place of right-arm fast bowler Taskin Ahmed. The left-arm spinner was excellent in the home T20I series and deserves a place in the team. Taskin played all three matches in the Qualifiers, but the track in Sharjah may not have a lot for him.

Mustafizur Rahman picked up four wickets against Oman and he showed how effective he can be in the death overs. The left-armer was effective for the Rajasthan Royals prior to the World Cup. The Tigers will again be banking on his potential to make inroads into the opposition batting lineup.