Bangladesh competed in two international Twenty20 series as preparation for the World Cup. Given the players' overall performances, the team tigers' preparation didn't go as planned. The team must concentrate on their areas of strength in order to line up the best Bangladesh playing XI for the T20 World Cup 2022.
The best Bangladesh playing XI for the 2022 World Twenty20 Cup
Places for a few of the players in Bangladesh's team are practically guaranteed. They are the automatic choices for the tigers’ playing XI. But there are a few slots that are up for grabs. The Australian surfaces will be beneficial for the faster bowlers. Therefore, picking the right pace bowling unit will be a tough decision to make for captain Shakib Al Hasan and the team management. Besides, how many spinners it would be ideal to have in the team is another area of concern they need to solve. But the most important one is to pick the opening pair who will be responsible for giving Bangladesh a solid start. Let’s get an idea of what should be the preferred playing XI for Bangladesh in the T20 World Cup 2022.
Read:T20 World Cup 2022: How prepared is Bangladesh?
Top-Order
There are at least five options based on the players who have opened the innings for Bangladesh in the last two international series. In the main squad, Litton Das, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Najmul Hossain Shanto, and Sabbir Rahman are in. On the other hand, Soumya Sarkar is among the standby players.
Based on the last two T20I series performances, Litton Das is the front-runner to be one of the openers for Bangladesh. He has by far the best record of any of the others. Litton has 180 runs in 6 innings with a strike rate of 140.62. His place on the team as an opener is all but assured.
Now the big talking point is who has the best chance to be Litton’s opening partner. For four matches, the team's management experimented with off-spinner all-rounder Mehidy Hasan Miraz. But sending Miraz to the top of the order didn’t work out as expected. Mehidy made 73 runs in 4 innings with a strike rate of 108.95. Miraz was never a conventional opener, so picking him for the role was a mistake.
Among the other three batters, Sabbir Rahman has the lowest strike rate at 86.66 and has only 26 runs in 3 innings. Soumya Sarkar has a 128.57 strike rate and Najmul Hossain Sahnto has exactly 100. Considering Soumya’s ability to play strokes on the fast and bouncy surface, he could be an ideal player to open the innings with Litton Das during the Twenty20 World Cup 2022. Because both Najmul Hossain and Sabbir Rahman have shown a lack of confidence in the middle.
The team management first has to incorporate Soumya Sarkar into the main world cup squad from the standby players to be eligible for the opening slot. Besides, captain Shakib Al Hasan is likely to bat at No. 3 in the World Cup fixtures.
Read:T20 World Cup 2022: Five potential candidates for most sixes
Middle-Order
Bangladesh’s middle-order is quite settled despite the majority of them having struggled to show their true potential. Afif Hossain, Yasir Ali, Mosaddek Hossain, Nurul Hasan, and Mohammad Saifuddin are likely to take the no.4 to no.8 slots.
Afif Hossain has the best record in recent matches in comparison to others. The left-handed, aggressive-minded batter has made 159 runs with a strike rate of 124.21. Nurul Hasan and Yasir Ali have shown some promise in the lower middle-order. Both the hard-hitters have 130 plus strike rates. However, they need to take their strike rate to 150 given that both the batters come at the crease at the no.6 and no.7 positions.
Mosaddek Hossain and Mohammad Saifuddin have the ability to play big shots and are currently favourites to take a spot in the playing XI in the initial matches. If one of these five players fails to impress the Bangladesh team think tanks, Sabbir Rahman can find a place in the middle-order.
Lower-Order
Bangladesh are likely to include three pacers in the playing XI given that Australian surfaces will assist the quicker bowlers. If Saifuddin finds a place in the team, two more fast bowlers are likely to be picked for the playing XI. Taskin Ahmed has been the most economical bowler from the pace bowling unit. The right-hand pacer has picked up 3 wickets in his previous 4 matches with an economy rate of 7.06. His position in the team is almost confirmed.
Mustafizur Rahman has been struggling with his accuracy and has been pretty expensive. The left-hand pacer may not be seen in the initial matches against the tigers. Two promising young pacers, Hasan Mahmud and Shoriful Islam, are likely to compete against each other for the final spot. Hasan Mahmud is already in the World Cup squad, but Shoriful Islam is on the standby list.
The BCB has to incorporate Shoriful into the main squad first to be eligible to take part in the T20 World Cup 2022 matches. Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Nasum Ahmed are the two spinning options for Captain Shakib. He has to pick one and Miraz is the early favourite to find a place in the playing XI. But for some matches, Nasum should be a better choice.
Read:ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022: Meet the 16 Captains
Bangladesh’s preferred playing XI for the 2022 Twenty20 World Cup
Litton Das, Soumya Sarkar, Shakib Al Hasan, Afif Hossain, Yasir Ali, Mosaddek Hossain, Nurul Hasan, Mohammad Saifuddin, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taskin Ahmed, Hasan Mahmud
Way Forward
It could be challenging for players at first to adapt to unfamiliar Australian conditions. The team management must thus give top priority to creating an effective Bangladesh playing XI for the T20 World Cup 2022. The players should be prepared to give their best for the team Tigers in every game.