Shakib Al Hasan and Mustafizur Rahman will play in the ODI series against Sri Lanka that means a full-strength Bangladesh team will play in the upcoming 3-match ODI series, which will not be pleasant for the opponents. Because Sri Lanka lags behind Bangladesh in terms of strength in limited-overs cricket. In addition, Bangladesh are a difficult opponent in their own backyard. However, Sri Lanka are gaining confidence as a couple of senior players will make a comeback to the squad. Overall, cricket fans are waiting for a thrilling contest. This article discusses how Bangladesh can clinch the ODI series against Sri Lanka. Here are five things Bangladesh need to do to win the series against Sri Lanka The 3 matches ODI series between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka will start later this month. The first match will be held on May 23 at the SBNCS, Mirpur and the rest of the matches will take place at the same venue on May 25 and May 28 respectively. Read: Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka ODI series 2021: Expected personal milestones to Reach Veteran Tamim Iqbal's visionary captaincy Tamim Iqbal is still learning the ropes as a leader. He needs more time in order to mature as a captain. Tamim should not be afraid to make critical decisions when needed. Tamim Iqbal is a reserved person, but he needs to be more constructive if he is to lead the team. He must inspire the bowlers and extend his decision-making, especially when fielding. The captain's personality may have an impact on the team's performance. That's why the emphasis should be on his efforts that motivate the team to succeed. Tamim Iqbal will advance one step further in his captaincy if Bangladesh win the ODI series against Sri Lanka. Making an effective plan for each match Having a proper game plan and using an effective strategy is important in ODI cricket. To succeed in the limited-overs format, you must first understand the opponent's weaknesses before putting together the best playing 11 for the contest. Bangladesh have a very strong spin attack and Sri Lankan spinners are equally good as well. In that situation, the tigers' team management must formulate a coherent strategy to defeat the Lankans. Bangladeshi pacers have lately performed better than spinners, which is great news for the team tigers'. They now have a lot of options for pace bowling. It is possible to do well in the ODI series against Sri Lanka if the strategy is properly implemented. In this case, the commitment of the players is important, and the team manager must assume responsibility. Read: Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka series 2021: ODI Ranking Prediction Forming big partnerships for a winnable total After scoring a half-century, Bangladeshi batsmen usually lose focus. It is extremely disappointing that cricketers have yet to develop the mentality of playing long innings. Big partnerships will be vital if Bangladesh want to whitewash Sri Lanka for the first time. Players should not be content with just a fifty. They must concentrate on making a score of a hundred or even a hundred and fifty. If Bangladesh bat first, they should aim to score high. The opposition team will be under pressure if Bangladesh post a huge total to defend. Batsmen must improve their fighting instinct, particularly when they are under extreme pressure. Then we can expect positive outcomes from the match. Focus on getting all the wickets of the opponent A team must be capable of taking all ten wickets to win ODIs on a regular basis. Thankfully, Bangladesh are now one of the toughest one-day international sides in the world, with enough quality bowlers to threaten any batting line-up. Spinners typically have the advantage on subcontinent pitches. Therefore, the Bangladeshi spinners must bear most of the responsibility in the series against Sri Lanka. Shakib Al Hasan, Mehidy Hasan, and Mahadi Hasan all can put the Lankan batters under a lot of pressure. Mustafizur Rahman, Rubel Hossain, and Taskin Ahmed are all capable pacers who can put the Lankan batsmen on the back foot. Therefore, picking up all ten wickets would not be a difficult task if Bangladesh bowlers play to their full ability. Minimize fielding errors Bangladesh's fielders have been underwhelming since resuming international cricket in January. Players are now making a lot of errors in ground fielding, they are dropping catches, and sometimes appearing uninterested at times. All of these are worrying matters, particularly when playing international cricket. At any level of cricket, players must keep their attention on fielding. They must always be proactive on the ground because one massive mistake could cost them the match. Read: Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka: Key ODI Records Bottom Line Bangladesh are now one of the strong ODI teams in the world. Bangladesh have been doing well in the limited-overs home series as well as in major ICC events. Every match is very important as the series against the Lankans is part of the ICC ODI World Cup Super League. Not just Bangladesh can clinch the ODI series against Sri Lanka, they will even try to whitewash the Lankans as each match is worth ten points. So, we can expect every match will be exciting.  

Bangladesh left-handed top-order batsman Soumya Sarkar has said that he is not bothered much about what has happened in the New Zealand tour earlier this year, he rather is looking forward to winning the home series against Sri Lanka later in May. Bangladesh national team is currently gearing up for the upcoming three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka starting from May 23. Soumya missed the two-match Test series against the same opponent which was played recently.  “We have been working hard to forget what we have done in New Zealand. We are looking forward to doing well in the home series against Sri Lanka,” Soumya told the reporters on Wednesday. “Every series is important for us. We are hopeful of keeping the title of the home series at the home and we will come up with a good brand of cricket,” he added. Bangladesh played the last ODI series in New Zealand. The hosts won the series 3-0. Bangladesh failed to pose any strong challenge in that series. During that contest, Bangladesh missed the service of the ace allrounder Shakib Al Hasan who was on leave. But he is set to join the team in this home series.  “It’s a big thing that we will get the service of Shakib back,” Soumya added. “And we will also have the service of Mustafizur (Rahman) who was playing well in IPL. They are set to make a comeback together. I hope they will complete the series well.” The Tigers played a three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka in 2019 in Sri Lanka which the hosts won 3-0. Soumya believes if Bangladesh can play according to their ability, the series would be an exciting one.  “When we take the field we eye to win. In this series, we will go match by match. At first, we have to win the opening game, then we will try to win the second one,” Soumya added. Soumya played 61 ODIs till the date but failed to cement his place in the national team. He scored 1768 runs in an average of 32.14 with two centuries and 11 fifties. He also bagged 11 wickets with the best of 3 for 56.

Bangladesh Test captain Mominul Haque hit his maiden test ton away from home in the ongoing Test against Sri Lanka in Kandy on Thursday. At the lunch break of day two, Bangladesh were batting at 378 for two, with Najmul Hossain Shanto and Mominul were unbeaten for 155 and 107 respectively. Also Read: Kandy Test: Tamim's quick fifty drives Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka  Mominul needed to face 224 to record his first century in an overseas Test. Right after his ton, Najmul, who was unbeaten for 126 at the end of day one, stretched his first Test ton to 150.  Najmul was dropped at 28 by the wicketkeeper of the hosts on day one.  Bangladesh ended day one at 302 for two. They added 76 runs in the first session of day two and both the overnight batsmen are still impregnable by the hosts’ bowlers.  The third-wicket partnership between Najmul and Mominul reached 226 runs so far, which is now the fourth highest stand by a Bangladeshi pair in away Tests. Also Read: BD v SL: Najmul hits maiden Test ton as Tigers take control  Mominul played 42 Tests before coming to this game and got stuck 10 centuries. But all of those centuries have been notched up on home soil. Before this game, his best in away Tests was 77, which is now surpassed by the left-handed batsman.  Earlier, on day one, Bangladesh won the toss and opted to bat first. They lost the opener, Saif Hassan, in the second over of the match. But the visitors recovered from that initial damage well, as Tamim Iqbal and Najmul put up a 144-run partnership in the second wicket stand.  This series is part of the World Test Championship. Bangladesh played five matches of this event but failed to win any of them while Sri Lanka played 10 matches and won one with losing six and drawing the other three.  Bangladesh played a total of 12 matches in Sri Lanka and won one of them in 2017 which was Bangladesh’s last overseas Test win to the date.  

On the first day of the two-day intra-squad practice game in Sri Lanka, four Bangladeshi batsmen scored a half-century each. At the end of the day, Tamim Iqbal-led Team Red scored 314 for six in 79.2 overs. For Team Red, Tamim, Saif Hassan, Najmul Hossain Shanto and Mushfiqur Rahim scored a fifty each while Nurul Hasan Shohan posted 48. Shuvagata Hom was the only bowler for Team Green to take a wicket while the other five batsmen decided to retired. Also read: Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka 2021: Analysis of Bangladesh’s Test Squad for Sri Lanka Series “It was tough to bat on this condition, especially, in the first hour of the day. But our openers— Tamim and Saif— batted tremendously. Najmul, Mushfiqur also did well,” Minhajul Abedin, Bangladesh’s chief selector who is touring Sri Lanka with the team, told the media over a video message. “Bowlers have tried to get adapted to the condition. I believe this practice match gave us some good (opportunity to prepare well). We will get another day of play which will surely help us to prepare properly,” he added. Also read: ‘We are capable of doing well in Sri Lanka’, says Khaled Mahmud Left-handed top-order batsman Najmul said he batted the way he wanted to. “I think it’s a great opportunity for preparation for us ahead of the main series,” Najmul said. “It’ll be great if I can bat this way in the Tests. We have to adapt to this condition. Bowlers did well in the first 20-25 overs, but after that, it became easy to bat on.” Also read: ‘We can win in Sri Lanka even without Shakib, Mustafizur,’ says Mominul The two-match series will begin on April 21 at Kandy. Due to the Covid-19 restriction in the island nation, both the Tests will take place at the same venue. This series is a part of the World Test Championship. Bangladesh played five matches of this event so far but failed to win any of them. Sri Lanka, on the other hand, played 10 Tests of this event and won only one with six defeats and three draws.

Bangladesh allrounder Mehidy Hasan Miraz has said that they hope to deliver a good performance in the Sri Lanka series and are optimistic about a positive result this time for the Tigers. Bangladesh national team are currently touring Sri Lanka for a two-match Test series which is part of the World Test Championship. It is the first overseas Test series for the Tigers in the pandemic. After reaching Sri Lanka on April 12, the Bangladesh team maintained a three-day quarantine in the team hotel. They started training on Thursday. Also read: Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka 2021: Analysis of Bangladesh’s Test Squad for Sri Lanka Series “Whenever we came to Sri Lanka, we played well. We narrowly failed to lift the Nidahas Trophy. We ended the ODI series 1-1, and in the Test series, we also ended up winning a match,” Mehidy told the media in a video message from Sri Lanka on Friday. “According to our performance in Sri Lanka during the last three-four years, I think we're not behind them. If we can stay firm and fight hard, I believe we’ll be able to bring a positive result this time,” he added.

Right-handed top-order batsman Saif Hassan said he is eager to do well for the national team in Sri Lanka series if he gets the chance to play. The Bangladesh team are now in Sri Lanka to play a two-match Test series against the hosts starting from April 21 at Kandy. Also read:Saif Hasan steals the show as 2nd round NCL begins Bangladesh team reached Sri Lanka on April 12 and maintained a three-day quarantine before taking the field for the first practice session on Thursday. “We’re prepared well ahead of the West Indies series at home. We played well against the Ireland Wolves as well, and after that, we played in the first two rounds of the games in the National Cricket League. I think that preparation will help us in Sri Lanka,” Saif told the media in a video message on Thursday. In the first round of the National Cricket League, Saif hit a ton for the Dhaka Divison. He smashed a century against Ireland Wolves as well. “When you score runs you get more confidence to do well. I’m confident to replicate those performances for the national team. If I get selected in the playing XI, I’ll try to do well,” Saif added. Also read:National Cricket League: Saif Hassan hits double ton, Abu ... Ahead of the series, the Bangladesh team will play a two-day intra-squad game. The 22-year-old batsman said this match will be a good chance for the Tigers to adapt to the condition. “The practice match is very important for us. I think it’s a good chance for us to adapt to the condition and get some ideas about the wicket,” Saif said. After the practice match, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) will announce the final squad for the Test series. It had earlier announced a 21-member preliminary squad. This series is part of the World Test Championship. Bangladesh played five matches of this event and failed to win any of them. Sri Lanka, on the other hand, played 10 matches and won only one with six defeats and three draws. In Sri Lanka, Bangladesh played a total of 12 Tests and won one of them, which was Bangladesh’s 100th Test match. They lost 10 matches and another one ended in a draw.

Bangladesh right-arm pacer Rubel Hossain is eyeing the upcoming Sri Lanka series for a possible Test comeback. The 30-year-old pacer was recalled for the format in Rawalpindi, Pakistan earlier this year. But he was subsequently overlooked for the one-off Test against Zimbabwe at home. 

Bangladesh left-handed batsman Soumya Sarkar said he felt good that Bangladesh is all set to play international cricket after the Covid-19 interval.