Home ›› 12 Sep 2021 ›› Sport
2021 is set to be Bangladesh’s busiest Twenty20 internationals year as the Tigers have already played 16 matches and will play at least three more at the T20 World Cup coming up later this year.
This has also been their most successful year as Bangladesh have managed to win nine matches already, two more than their previous best in 2016.
Tigers have won three consecutive series this year against Zimbabwe, Australia and New Zealand, and that saw them rise to sixth place in the ICC T20I rankings.
And as the World Cup is just over a month away, it’s time to take a look at how the individual performances from Bangladesh players have been this year, and those show that it was the youngsters who were impressive in every sector. Afif Hossain was the most impressive batsman, whereas Shoriful Islam, who debuted earlier this year, was one of the most successful bowlers for Bangladesh.
Among the batsmen that played for Bangladesh this year, only Naim Sheikh batted in all 16 innings. And expectedly, he has the most runs. The left-hander has scored 351 runs at an average of 23.40, but his strike rate has been less than run-a-ball at 98.87.
Sitting behind him is skipper Mahmudullah Riyad, scoring 296 runs in 15 innings at an average of 24.66 and a strike rate of 101.71.
Among the Bangladesh batsmen, the one with the highest strike rate and more than 200 runs is Afif Hossain. The youngster has scored 260 runs in 14 innings, averaging 23.63 with a strike rate of 124.40.
Soumya Sarkar comes in at four with 224 runs and Shakib Al Hasan at fifth with 196 runs, with their strike rate being 113.70 and 105.37 respectively.
Bangladesh might be worried about Mushfiqur Rahim’s form as the veteran batsman has only played five T20Is this year and could manage only 39 runs in them. Another concern is Liton Das, who has only one 30+ innings and averages only 9.37 this year.
Both of them are set to be regulars for Bangladesh in the World Cup and must pick up their form to help the side in the World Cup.
Left-arm seamer Mustafizur Rahman has been Bangladesh’s best bowler this year as he has picked up 18 wickets in 11 innings with an economy rate of 5.77.
Nasum Ahmed has also picked up 18 wickets, but the left-arm seamer has played three matches more and has an economy of 6.22. Young pacer Shoriful has a higher economy rate of 7.97 but has been impressive throughout the year, picking up 17 wickets at a strike rate of 13, even better than Mustafiz’s 13.1.
Shak Mahedi Hasan and Shakib are in fourth and fifth as they both picked up 14 wickets each, with an economy of 7.11 and 6.27 respectively.
The stats show that despite Naim Sheikh being the highest run-scorer this year, he was not the most effective due to his lower strike rate. So was not Mahmudullah despite playing a couple of crucial knocks.
Afif has been the most effective with his strike rate over 120, a rarity among Bangladesh batsmen this year.
On the other hand, the bowling statistics show the real picture as the five bowlers at the top have been the key aspects of Bangladesh’s home series wins against Australia and New Zealand.
