A depleted Bangladesh cricket team starts it journey once again post mixed mission in CWC 2019. Head coach, bowling coach and Physio have gone or axed. Captain Mashrafe is unfit, vice captain and top all rounder is relaxing, budding all rounder Saifuddin is unfit, Liton Das for his personal reasons could not go. Tamim Iqbal laeds the team though Mahmuduallh is in the team. Controversial Khaled Mahmud Sujon is again the interim head coach. In this circumstance it is not going to be easy for team tigers winning the series or competing well against Sri Lanka which performed better than Bangladesh in CWC 2019.
Bangladesh Squad:
Tamim Iqbal (Captain), Soumya Sarkar, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah Riyad, Mohammad Mithun, Mosaddek Hossain Saikat, Sabbir Rahman, Rubel Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Anamul Haque Bijoy, Mehedy Hasan Miraz, Taskin Ahmed, Shafiul Islam and Taijul Islam
The fourteen member Bangladesh squad will first have to cover for high quality all round ability of Shakib Al Hasan. He is not unfit or injured. He did not play too much cricket off late. Yes he played 8 matches in CWC 2019 but he was warming bench only during the entire IPL 2019. Shakib opting to skip is not right. Mashrafe carried injury in CWC and should have been rested for last few matches to be honest. It is ok resting injured all rounder Saifuddin. One can not compromise with pre set family engagement as is the case with Liton.
Now Bangladesh faces great challenge with the opening combination. Tamim was way below his best in CWC 2019. If the additional duty of leading a depleted team does not burden him Tamim should come back to his own in Sri Lankan wicket and condition. In absence of Shakib; Tamim, Mushfiq and Mahmuduallh would require to deliver to the best of their ability in batting. Soumya looked vulnerable in all his innings at CWC. He is a good player of pace on bouncy wicket. I am not sure that he would be a right choice for the opening spot. Anamul Haque Bijoy has returned to the side after a while. Him playing as opening partner of Tamim would give right left combination. But it wont be easy playing Vini, Vici, Vidi for Bijoy.
In CWC, Shakib was the Nucleus of Bangladesh batting. His self exile would leave gaping hole in Bangladesh batting. Moreover, Liton is also not there. There are few options for slotting in number 3. It can be Soumya, Mithun and Mahmudullah. Of the three would recommend for vastly experienced Mahmudullah batting at three. He is not a batsman playing at six and seven.
Bangladesh missed a trick slotting at lower middle order. Playing at three, he can put together partnership of substance with Tamim or Mushfiq. He was the best performer for Bangladesh in CWC 2015. Mushfiq as usual would bat at 4 and Soumya can be slotted at five and followed by Mithun and Mosaddek at 6 and 7. Miraj, Taijul, Rubel/ Taskin and Mustafiz should make the team.
If you take out the runs (606) that Shakib scored in CWC rest of the batting was pretty ordinary. Mushfiq did well in few matches and others were regularly irregular. Sri Lanka under coach of Hathurusingha (one who knows Bangladesh players like his bald top) would put Bangladesh in serious examination.
Bangladesh must bat well and score 300 or there about in all three matches for creating contest. For that the onus is heavily on Tamim, Mushfiq and Mahmudullah. Hope Bijoy plays well also and Mithun and Mosaddek pay back the confidence of the selectors on them.
Sri Lanka squad:
Dimuth Karunarathna (captain), Kusal Perera, Avishka Fernando, Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Lahiru Thirimane, Shehan Jayasuriya, Dhananjaya de Silva, Wanindu Hasaranga, Akila Dananjaya, Lasith Malinga, Nuwan Pradeep, Lahiru Kumara, Thisara Perera, Isuru Udana and Kasun Rajitha.
The Sri Lankan maestro Lasith Malinga would retire in front of his home crowd after playing in the first ODI. What a great servant of Lankan cricket he had been. World cricket would miss this special haired slinger, his toe crushing Yorkers. He will be replaced by Dasun Shanaka for match two and three. The top five showed lot of promise in CWC 2019. Kusal Perera and Aviska Fernando are very promising. Captain Karunaratne, veterans Angelo Mathhews and Thirimane are the inspirations in the team.
Sri Lanka created great turbulence in CWC 2019 beating England. They had a very successful CWC finishing 6th. After some reverses in the first few matches, they bounced back and at a stage were threatening to break into top four. Malinga, Pradeep, Thisara Perera and Udana are good enough taking wickets with the new ball and in the death overs.
Akila Dananjaya, Dhananjaya de Silva and Kasun Ranjitha are good enough spin bowlers to trouble Bangladesh in the middle overs. Sri Lanka in my opinion is a better team and would start as favorite in the series.
Bangladesh perhaps hurried taking decision about its coaching staff. The allegations of indiscipline in the team cannot be solely vested on Head Coach. Team Manager and Director Cricket (Operation) as well as many policy makers with BCB hospitality were there during world cup. Now manager of the team Khaled Mahmud Sujon is the interim head coach and Bangladesh would be playing under a new Captain Tamim who struggled for form through out CWC 2019.
We never expect Bangladesh playing poorly and losing any match. But with a depleted team playing against a young dynamic team on their backyard will be an acid test for Bangladesh.
BDST: 0945 HRS, JULY 26, 2019
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