Bangladesh squad for Asia cup 2023 : Full team list

The Bangladesh Cricket Board announced the squad for the 2023 on 12th August. The Asia Cup starts on 30th August with Pakistan and Sri Lanka hosting the event. The experienced allrounder, Test & T20I captain, 36-year-old Shakib Al Hasan has been appointed the ODI skipper after six long years. Former skipper Tamim Iqbal who retired midway during the ODI series versus Afghanistan and then reversed his decision has been ruled out due to a back injury.

Shakib will lead an 18-member contingent with the Tigers playing their first match of the tournament against Sri Lanka on August 31 in Pallekee. Opener Tanzid Hasan, middle order batter Shamim Hossain, allrounder Mahedi Hasan and left arm orthodox spinner Nasum Ahmed have been included in the team as the only three changes from the team’s previous outing.

The squad comprises of six batters with Litton Das keeping his spot having recently leading the side in the absence of Tamim Iqbal. He will be partnered by Najmul Hossain Shanto at the top with Towhid Hridoy, Mohammad Naim Sheikh and senior wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim filling the middle order slots. Tanzid Hasan Tamim is the reserve opener getting his maiden call up in the ODI set-up having scored 179 runs across four innings in the recently concluded ACC Men’s Emerging cup.

Bangladesh’s batting is not their forte. The top order average of 34.30 since 2022 is the 8th lowest among the top 10 teams and lowest among all Asian teams. 

Litton has been the team’s highest run scorer in ODIs since the beginning of 2022 having scored 878 runs at an average of 41.81 hitting 7 fifties and a 136 as the solitary century. However, the Bangladesh openers have scored 1557 runs at an average of 32.4 since 2022, a sign of worry as they are the worst Asian team in this regard. The strike rate in the first powerplay is just 78.5. With Litton’s regular opening partner Tamim out of the tournament, he will form a new pair with Najmul Hossain Shanto who has 546 runs averaging at 30.33.

The middle order which comprises Mushfiqur, Hridoy, and the allrounders Shakib, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Shamim Hossain, Afif etc. has faired well with the average increasing to 34.5, only fourth behind South Africa, Pakistan and New Zealand. The strike rate however, remains amongst the lowest (84) in the middle overs (11-40) where the middle order usually finds itself on the crease.
The number 4 conundrum has haunted the Bangladesh side as well. Mushfiqur Rahim, who played majority of the games at that position was slotted further down the order in recent games with Towhid Hridoy, Shakib, Litton playing in that position in the recent matches against Afghanistan and Ireland. That could be completely experimental as Bangladesh’s number 4 batters have only managed 655 runs in 24 innings averaging below 30. Only Sri Lanka and Australia’s number 4 have faired a worse average amongst top nations.
 

Bangladesh’s strike rate in the final 10 overs of an innings is only 115. Only Afghanistan’s batting order has worse numbers amongst the top 10 teams. The Bangladesh middle order needs some extra firepower to counter the likes of the Indian, Pakistani and Sri Lankan bowling attack to generate a big score on the board. This is where the team lacks depth the most in the batting order. Players like Towhid Hridoy, Mehidy who bat at number 5 or lower need to step up in such moments and be the power hitting finishers the team lacks.

Since 2022 among the players who have scored minimum 200 ODI runs for Bangladesh, only three players - Towhid Hridoy, Mahmudullah and Litton Das – have an average above 40. Incidentally the 37 year old Mahmudullah has been dropped for the Asia Cup.

Besides the skipper, the team involves off spinners Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Shamim Hossain, Afif Hossain and Mahedi Hasan as allrounders. The names give away the problem straightway, lack of a fast-bowling option who can bat down the order. All the aforementioned names barring Shakib, who bowls left arm spin, bowl off breaks. Picking multiple allrounders in the playing XI could be troublesome for the management.

Mehidy however has had a terrific run of form with both bat and ball for Bangladesh. He is their highest wicket taker in the format since 2022 with 33 wickets to his name at a healthy average of 29.7. He also scored 462 runs in that period at 35.54 with his maiden ODI ton coming against India late last year.

Mehidy is the stabilizer of the lower middle order batting at number 8 and sometimes coming in early to bat the team out of trouble. A similar role is portrayed by Shakib up the order. Bowling his left arm spin, Shakib has picked 28 wickets since 2022, the second highest for Bangladesh with also 611 runs behind his back.

Batting allrounder Afif, coming in at number 7 started off 2022 well but recently his form has been a sign of worry with his previous half century coming over a year ago. He only has 2 wickets to his name in 6 innings. Shamim at the other hand, has been picked in the ODI squad before but was dropped without a debut. Making his comeback in the side, Mahedi Hasan made his debut in 2021 and has never played for Bangladesh ever since.

Looking at the allrounders for the Asia cup, it seems like the Bangladesh team is going through a rebuilding phase at the wrong time with only Shakib and Mehidy looking a certain choice in the XI.

The only department that looks confident in the Bangladesh squad is their pace and spin department. With a variety of fast bowlers and spinners who have performed well through the last couple of years, the Bangladeshi bowling line-up can give a good run for the money to any batting order in the world.

Bangladesh has the 4th best bowling strike rate since 2022 getting a wicket every 31.6 balls. The pacers have picked up 44 wickets in the first powerplay striking every 35.5 balls with youngster Hasan Mahmud getting 8 of them. The slow bowlers spin a web during the middle phase of the innings with 112 wickets at a strike rate of 37.4: only behind India and Sri Lanka in the world. Mehidy has 19 off his 28 wickets during this phase. Taskin has 18 scalps with Shakib right behind him taking 17 wickets during this stage of the innings.

The death over specialists take over picking wickets consistently with 48 scalps since 2022 at a strike rate of 15.3 with an economy of 6.9. Mehdy flourishes here as well bowling in the first half taking 9 wickets with the cutter specialist Mustafizur getting 11 scalps with his variations in pace.