BAN vs NZ ODI Series 2023: Bangladesh Squad Analysis

September 20, 2023, 02:45 PM
by Nafiz Tahmid

UNB News
Publish- September 20, 2023, 02:45 PM
Nafiz Tahmid
Update- September 21, 2023, 07:50 AM

BAN vs NZ ODI Series 2023: Bangladesh Squad Analysis

Analysis of Bangladesh Squad for BAN vs NZ ODI Series 2023 (UNB Digital Image)

Bangladesh could not perform well in the recently ended Asia Cup 2023. Shakib Al Hasan’s team will play at home against New Zealand to regain their confidence before the World Cup 2023. The New Zealand team has already reached Dhaka to play the three-match ODI series. BAN vs NZ series will start on September 21, 2023. All the matches will start at 2 pm Bangladesh time at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur.

Bangladesh Squad for Bangladesh vs New Zealand ODI Series 2023

Litton Das (capt), Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Anamul Haque, Tawhid Hridoy, Mahmudullah, Nurul Hasan, Mahedi Hasan, Nasum Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Zakir Hasan, Rishad Hossain and Syed Khaled Ahmed.

Analysis of Bangladesh Squad Against New Zealand

Bangladesh has made the strategic decision to give a break to several key players during the initial two ODIs against New Zealand. Bangladesh Cricket Board aims to maintain the top players’ physical fitness for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023.

Experienced players Tamim Iqbal and Mahmudullah have been included in the squad for the initial two ODIs. Their return will surely add valuable depth to the squad, and the selectors can decide if these two should be selected for the World Cup.

Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taskin Ahmed, Hasan Mahmud, and Shoriful Islam are being given rest by the cricket board. This means that when the series starts next Thursday, we will see some new faces on the field. Since Shakib is on rest, Litton Das will be the captain of the Bangladesh cricket team. Some other players, like Shamim Hossain, Afif Hossain, and Mohammad Naim, were dropped from the squad. Instead, Soumya Sarkar and Nurul Hasan, along with three new and uncapped players, Zakir Hasan, Rishad Hossain, and Khaled Ahmed, have been selected to join the team. So, the upcoming series gives the selectors a chance to see how some other players perform before the World Cup and see if any hidden gem comes out.

It can be said that the team has a mix of both experienced and young players. Among them, only Zakir, Khaled, and Rishad haven’t played in ODIs yet. Zakir almost got a chance to play against Ireland in March, but he got injured. Khaled has shown good performance in List A cricket, and Rishad brings something unique to the bowling strategy.

On August 3, Tamim stepped down from his role as Bangladesh’s ODI captain. He also mentioned that he wouldn’t be playing in the Asia Cup because he needed time to recover from several injuries, and now he is back.

Mahmudullah is making a comeback to the team after his last ODI series against England in March. He was given a break initially during the Ireland series in March-April but was later not selected for the away series against Ireland in Chelmsford in May. Additionally, he was also left out of the ODIs against Afghanistan and didn’t play in the Asia Cup.

However, Soumya Sarkar’s selection is quite unexpected because he has been struggling with his performance for a while now. It was even surprising when he was picked for the Bangladesh A team in the recent Asian Cricket Council Emerging Teams tournament. However, even at that level, he managed to score only 95 runs in three innings, which isn’t considered a strong performance.

Additionally, Bangladesh will be without Ebadot Hossain, who has been ruled out of the World Cup due to a recent knee surgery earlier this month. Furthermore, Najmul Hossain Shanto will also be absent from the New Zealand series due to a hamstring injury he sustained after participating in just two games during the Asia Cup.

Among the new and uncapped players, Zakir, Rishad, and Khaled have all represented Bangladesh in various forms of cricket but have not played in ODIs yet. Zakir, who usually opens the batting, has an average of 29.92 after playing 103 List A matches. Rishad, who is only 21 years old, has participated in just three List A matches and made his T20I debut against Ireland earlier this year. Khaled, who is nearly 31 years old, is a medium-pace bowler with 64 List A wickets in 47 games. He has also played 12 Test matches for Bangladesh.

Key Players to Watch in the Bangladesh Squad

Tanzim Hasan Sakib

Tanzim Hasan Sakib is a recent addition to the Bangladesh cricket team. He did great on his ODI debut against India in the last match of the Asia Cup Super Four round. He managed to take two important wickets of Rohit Sharma and Tilak Varma and showed his skills before the 2023 World Cup. The speedster was a member of the Bangladesh Under-19 team that won the 2020 World Cup in South Africa. So, he will definitely get all the attention in this series.

Tawhid Hridoy

He has been performing well and scoring consistently ever since he made his T20 debut, and he also did pretty well in the Asia Cup. He scored 158 runs with 82 high scores and 68.69 strikes from five appearances in the Asia Cup. Further, his 54 runs off 81 balls contribution against India gave Bangladesh a good fighting chance. So, it is expected he will keep shining in the New Zealand series, too.

Mahmudullah

Mahmudullah was missed greatly in the Asia Cup 2023 as Bangladeshi top orders failed miserably, and there were no stable players to play in the middle orders. Mahmudullah could have contributed to those situations. So, fans will be looking to his performance in this series and see if he can give his best to be included in the World Cup squad. Overall, Mahmudullah played 218 ODIs for Bangladesh and scored 4950 runs with a highest score of 128 runs.

Nasum Ahmed

Nasum Ahmed can be a great pick for the middle order. While he did not get much chance to show his talent, he got attention in the last match against India. He scored 44 runs from 45 balls while batting at number 8. His bowling performance was also satisfactory. Although he did not get any wickets in the Asia Cup, his economy rate was 4.05 after bowling 20 overs. So, he will surely try to prove himself in both batting and bowling.

Final Words

This New Zealand series is an ideal opportunity to check the alternative players for the World Cup while giving the regular players rest. The Bangladesh Cricket Board has taken the opportunity perfectly. Now, we have to wait until the series ends on September 26 to see the outcome. This BAN vs NZ ODI series is considered as preparation for the World Cup 2023. Hence, the Tigers’ performance in this series will give us an idea about their performance in the World Cup.