Bangladesh will take on Scotland on the opening day of the T20 World Cup, beginning October 17 in Oman's capital Muscat, according to the schedule released by the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Tuesday.
The opening match of the event, however, will be played between the co-hosts of the event Oman and Papua New Guinea at the same venue.
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Bangladesh will have to play Round 1 in Group B along with Scotland, Papua New Guinea and Oman. In the same round, Sri Lanka, Ireland, the Netherlands and Namibia will compete in Group A. Two teams from each group will advance to the Super 12s.
The Tigers will take on Oman and Papua New Guinea on October 19 and 21, respectively, in their second and third matches of Round 1.
If Bangladesh can finish Round 1 matches at the top of Group B, they will advance to Group 2 of Super 12s, where they will join India, Pakistan, New Zealand, Afghanistan and runners-up of Group A in Round 1.
If Bangladesh finishes as runners-up of Group B in Round 1, they will join England, Australia, South Africa, West Indies and toppers of Group A in Round 1.
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“It’s a very important tournament for all teams and especially for our team. We are playing a few series before the T20 World Cup and if we can do well, get a bit of confidence, try to win those series before the World Cup starts, it will be a big boost for our team,” Bangladesh T20 captain Mahmudullah said.
“Our strength has been our all-rounders and our bowling department. Having said that, our batting is also very good and we have a good balance. We have five or six all-rounders, who can bat and bowl. Our fast bowlers are doing an incredible job at the moment. Our spinners are our strength as well. If they can put up their hand in a few matches, hopefully, we will have some good results,” Mahmudullah added.
Mahmudullah also said that Shakib Al Hasan has always been the number one player of the Bangladesh team, and Mushfqiur Rahim and Mustafizur Rahman are also valuable enough. Mahmudullah hopes that Nurul Hasan Sohan, Afif Hossain and Shamim Hossain also have the ability to do well, and all of them are keen to prove their mettle.
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Bangladesh are currently waiting for a five-match T20 series against New Zealand starting from September 1. The Blackcaps are scheduled to arrive in Bangladesh by August 24.
Before this series, Bangladesh took on Australia and won the five-match T20I series 4-1. It was Bangladesh’s first series win over Australia in any format of international cricket.