Tigers hoping for new start

Bangladesh will hope for a good start to their 2022 T20 World Cup campaign as they take on Netherlands at the Bellerive Oval in Hobart today.

Bangladesh have concerns all over their XI, but they have an added one too as the weather predictions are currently showing a 90% chance of rain during the match.

Keeping that aside, if the match goes on without rain interruption, Bangladesh must stay alert to face the Dutch as they don’t have a great record against them. In the three matches played, they have lost one and won two, with the latest win coming by only eight runs in the preliminary stage of the 2016 T20 World Cup.

The Tigers have not had the best preparation leading to the World Cup as they lost all four matches of the tri-nation series in New Zealand.

But there were some good signs as skipper Shakib Al Hasan and Liton Das showed signs of form, and the likes of Hasan Mahmud and Taskin Ahmed impressed with the ball.

Yet, ahead of the clash, Shakib was wary of the foes they face.

“We have five matches in the tournament, and we are prepared for that. Whoever we play against, our preparation will be the same and that is how it should be. It will be the same against Netherlands, Pakistan, India, Zimbabwe, and South Africa. There will be no changes to our preparation. And they (Netherlands) have arrived here as the deserving side,” Shakib said in the pre-match press conference.

The Bangladesh skipper also added that they were happy with the preparation they had for the World Cup, and were ready to go.

“I think we have had a great preparation. Everybody is fit and ready to go. I think playing the four matches in New Zealand will help us as the weather in Hobart is similar to Christchurch,” he said.

Bangladesh are yet to figure out their best XI for the World Cup, but Shakib said they were not much worried about it.

“We will pick the best XI from the 15 players available and they will give their best performance on the pitch. We don’t have to be much worried about whether we will pick spinners more or pacers. Whoever will play, will perform- I am confident about it,” Shakib said.

Bangladesh must be worried about Dutch opener Max O’Dowd, who scored 129 runs in the three matches of the preliminary stage. If the Tigers’ bowlers fail to get rid of him early, it may spell trouble for the Tigers.

But Shakib was unbothered by who their opponent is, and was rather only focusing on the two points.

“Every match is important for us; we can get two points from every match. We will play every match to win. There are no weak teams in the tournament. We have not prepared thinking about the teams. We took our best preparation so that we can give our best efforts on the pitch,” Shakib said.

Bangladesh last won a game in the final stage of the T20 World Cup back in 2007, when they beat West Indies. Since then, and since the start of the Super 12 format in 2014, the Tigers have not found a win at the business end of the tournament.

They have a shot at it in Hobart, but it’s on a slippery slope, and failure might put their whole campaign on the rails.