Home ›› 09 Mar 2023 ›› Sport
Bangladesh have only faced England once in a Twenty20 International, never in a bilateral series. That only clash was in 2021, when the sides met in the T20 World Cup and the Tigers were battered and bruised by the Three Lions as they lost the match by eight wickets.
Since then, a lot has changed for the Bangladesh T20I side. Shakib Al Hasan has returned to the helm, Mushfiqur Rahim has retired from the format, the ousted skipper Mahmudullah Riyad has lost his place in the side, and after a brief period of flirting with the idea of split coaching, Chandika Hathurusinghe has once again taken charge of all three formats.
It has changed for England too. They have secured their second T20 World Cup trophy, which has made them the only team to be the ODI and T20 World Champions at the same time.
After all that, the two sides now lock horns in their first-ever bilateral T20 series, England with the confidence of winning the ODIs, and Bangladesh with their home advantage.
The Tigers have a few new faces in the squad as left-arm spinner Tanvir Islam, pacer Rejaur Rahman Raja, and batter Towhid Hridoy have entered the squad with their brilliant performances in the latest edition of the Bangladesh Premier League. Rony Talukder, who was the second-highest run-scorer of the BPL, has also returned to the national team fray following an eight-year hiatus and Shamim Hossain has also returned after just over a year out.
The inclusion of these players has come as part of Bangladesh’s long-term plan for the 2024 T20 World Cup in the West Indies and the USA, and head coach Hathurusinghe emphasised that.
“It is an opportunity for us to prepare for the World Cup. We need to think about the conditions of where it will take place. This one is in West Indies and the USA, so we have a little more information. We have toured West Indies more than the other teams. So preparing with that in the mind, try to get the right combinations. There are opportunities for a lot of players,” he said on Wednesday.
Thus, Bangladesh might field an XI where there might be at least one debutant today. Hridoy is set to play his first international match in the middle-order, where he is likely to be accompanied by skipper Shakib, Afif Hossain, and Nurul Hasan Sohan. If Liton Das and Najmul Hossain Shanto open the innings, it is likely that Shamim might get a shot at number seven. If Liton is played at three, Rony might get a chance to play his first-ever T20I.
In the bowling department, the inclusion of Taskin Ahmed is almost guaranteed unless for the knock which kept him out of the third ODI. Nasum Ahmed is also likely to start, meaning the other two positions are likely to be split between Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Hasan Mahmud, and Mustafizur Rahman.
Hathurusinghe, who had said before this series that he will only be observing, wants to continue on that.
“I am very open to seeing what we can do. I expect players to do the same thing that got them selected. So go and show at the international level against the world champions, for them to understand where they are at, and for us to understand whether we are better than them in our conditions or they are better than us. Good opportunity for us to see our skillset in T20s,” he said.
The Sri Lankan added, “I look forward to seeing them in match situations. I am impressed with what I have seen in the nets. My message to them today was to do what they normally do, on the international stage.”
The pitch will be the one on which the third ODI was played, meaning there will be spin on offer, alongside the low bounce, something English all-rounder Chris Woakes agreed to.
“I mean I assume it will be relatively slow. And I'm sure it'll take a little spin or at least hold a little bit for the spinners and slower bowlers. And as a fast bowler or a seam bowler, you probably need a lot of variations used. But yeah, that's the way the pitch looks,” he said.
This indicates that there might not be too many runs on the wicket, but even if there were, the concern for the Bangladesh batters is their lack of power-hitting ability.
While that remains a question, Hathurusinghe believes they need to do other things right too.
“Power is a big factor. But you need to have a good mechanism like a good swing, a good base. You can get a little better but if you have power, it gives you a head start more than others,” he said.
The match starts at 3 PM at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram.
