Bangladesh Cricket Team have been roaring like a Royal Bengal Tiger in the true sense. Especially, in the white-ball format, they have been unbeatable at home for quite some time now. With the teams like India, and England visiting them for the limited overs series have struggled to beat them. In the recently concluded ODI super league, they showed their dominance in the 50-over format.
They’re hot favourites this time to make the cut for the knockout stage. With the World Cup taking place in India, in a similar condition to Bangladesh, their chances have increased multiple folds. As a team, they’re quite strong, they know the conditions better than many cricketers. They will be eager to better their 2015’s quarter-final performance this time.
This run of play hasn’t come in a year or two. BCB has indulged its heart and soul to make things better. From producing World Class cricketers to beating India, and England in World Cup matches they have come a long way. On this path, they have got the services of some wonderful cricketers in World Cup matches.
Let’s take a look at some of the best performances by Bangladesh players in ODI World Cup:
10. Mohammad Saifuddin (87 runs in 5 innings & 13 wickets in 7 innings)
Mohammad Saifuddin. (Photo Source: Getty Images)
Mohammad Saifuddin belongs to the rare category of fast-bowling all-rounders from the sub-continent. The Chittagong-born cricketer created impressions and early excitement in the Bangladesh cricket fraternity as soon as he made his debut. On the brink of impressive performances in age-group cricket, he was fast-tracked to the national squad. Saifuddin was drafted into the squad touring the UK for the Cricket World Cup 2019.
Having no prior experience bowling in this condition, he still excelled in his performances. Playing his first World Cup, he had the nerves under control. Though he conceded 7.18 runs per over, he was taking wickets at regular intervals. He used his height quite efficiently to get purchase off the surface quite well.
With the bat in hand, he had a sensational half-century against India at Birmingham. Even his knock against New Zealand at the Oval was instrumental in getting Bangladesh close to the 250-run mark. The all-round performance he had in that World Cup, gave Bangladesh high hopes of a genuine match-winner in the years to come. But since then, Saifuddin has fallen behind the radar. He last played for the Bengal Tigers almost two years back.
9. Rubel Hossain ( 14 wickets in 14 innings)
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Rubel Hossain, the speedster from the 2008 U19 batch, earned a national call-up in the same year. In the next three years to come, he was at the frontier of Bangladesh’s bowling attack. Till today, he has participated in three World Cups starting from 2011 to 2019. After a forgetful start in the 2011 World Cup, he picked up three wickets against strong favourite, South Africa.
Rubel who hails from Khulna, came back strong in the next World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. His most memorable bowling performance came during that campaign. Bangladesh knocked England out of the World Cup to everyone’s surprise. In that match, Rubel returned with a figure of 9.3-0-53-4, his best in World Cup matches.
But lastly concluded World Cup, he didn’t get as many chances as he got earlier. Though Bangladesh had played exceedingly well, Rubel had a forgetful UK tour. His only solidarity wicket came against India. His declined performance restricted him to be part of the national squad for the last two years.
8. Mashrafe Mortaza (19 wickets in 24 innings)
Bangladesh cricketer Mashrafe Mortaza. (Photo credit -/AFP/Getty Images)
Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, fondly called as Mash, has been one of the longest-serving warriors of Bangladesh Cricket. Having made his debut early in 2001, he sparked enthusiasm with his fast bowling, slamming sixes, and agile fielding. Mortaza used to share the new ball, he had the knack of getting the ball nip back.
He started his World Cup journey way back in 2003, he got two matches there. Then came the 2007 West Indies World Cup. Bangladesh started off with a thumping victory over India when Mashrafe produced a match-winning figure of 4 for 38. But sadly due to a knee injury, he missed the home World Cup in 2011. He would like to continue from where he left in the Caribbean four years back.
Then making a comeback in the 2015 World Cup, the experienced campaigner led Bangladesh to their best World Cup campaign to date. But in the 2019 World Cup, with his struggling form he couldn’t help Bangladesh qualify for the Semifinals despite Shakib Al Hasan’s heroics. Even, to date, he regrets his performance had let his team down. But for his teammates, he’s still their dear leader, their ‘Mash Bhai’.
7. Abdur Razzak (20 wickets in 15 innings)
Abdur Razzak. (Photo Source: Twitter)
Abdur Razzak is regarded as a legend in Bangladesh’s cricket circuit. The slow left-arm orthodox created history, when he became the first Bangladeshi Cricketer to pick 200 ODI wickets. He was a typical old-school bowler who believed in beating the batter with a slow turn. He used to get the purchase from the surfaces on which he played.
Razzak represented Bangladesh in two World Cups. He picked up 13 scalps in the nine matches of the 2007 World Cup. Against India, Bermuda, and Australia he got three dismissals each time. The Bangladesh skipper relied on Razzak for regular wickets.
But he would be disappointed with his 2011 World Cup performance that too at home. He struggled to take wickets in the first three matches, but by the time he got back into his form, the tournament was over for Bangladesh. Still, he holds the record for third highest wicket-taker for Bangladesh in World Cup matches.
6. Mustafizur Rahman (20 wickets in 8 innings)
Mustafizur Rahman. (Photo by Andy Kearns/Getty Images)
The shy boy’s journey from Satkhira to Bangladesh’s dressing room will stay in their cricketing folklore for a long time. Getting spotted by Mortaza in the nets to play under him was a phenomenal achievement in itself. The tall left-arm fast bowler made headlines when he picked up his first fifer in his debut match against India. Since then there’s no looking back for Fizz.
Mustafizur Rahman was part of the 2019 Cricket World Cup squad. He came back with 20 wickets under his belt in 8 innings. Back-to-back five-wicket hauls in the last two matches against India were praiseworthy. He’s become more lethal now and uses his variation to deceive the batters at his will.
His death bowling skills are hard to match. Rahman has a secret weapon in the name of the off-cutter, which he has developed over the years. He will be hungry this time more as the World Cup will be played in his known territory. The left-arm pacer will be Bangladesh’s biggest bowling bet in the upcoming Cricket World Cup.
5. Litton Das (184 runs in 5 innings)
Litton Das (Photo Source: Twitter)
Litton Das is regarded as one of the most promising batters in recent times to come out from the subcontinent. Das has got everything built in him to succeed at the higher level. A compact batter by nature, Litton has cemented his place in the Bangladesh squad. Hailing from Dinajpur district, Das’s flamboyant batting, and strokeplay earned him an IPL call this year.
Playing his first-ever match in England, Litton impressed everyone with his match-winning 94* innings against the West Indies, at Taunton. He carried his form into coming games as well. He has got starts in every match at a healthy strike rate. This aggressive batter has got a solid skill set to finish the innings at the back end.
In the upcoming World Cup, all eyes will be on his performances. Though he lacks game time here in India, a batter of his calibre won’t have problems with that. He will look to make it count this time at the World’s biggest stage.
4. Mahmudullah Riyad(616 runs in 15 innings)
Mahmudullah. (Photo Source: ICC)
Mahmudullah Riyad has been a clutch player for the Bangladesh Cricket team for a long time. This middle order batter dons the most difficult job in the game. He not only has to rescue his team from difficult situations but also needs to finish strong. Being a skillful batter,, Riyad keeps the game alive as long as he bats.
Ever since he made his World Cup, he’s improved by leaps and bounds. Barring the disastrous CWC campaign in 2011, he hasn’t registered a single-digit score till now. Scoring back-to-back hundreds against England and New Zealand in the 2015 World Cup has been the highlight of his World Cup campaign. Those hundreds were regarded as top-class batting efforts.
Even his well-fought 69 against Australia was applauded. Each time he went out to bat for his team, he contributed meaningfully. He should be on the flight to India for the World Cup, but chances are less as he wasn’t picked for the Ireland series. But players of his standard know how to come back and how to perform at the World Cup matches, and BCB won’t like to miss that opportunity.
3. Tamim Iqbal ( 718 runs in 29 innings)
Tamim Iqbal. (Photo Source: Lee Warren/Gallo Images/Getty Images)
Tamim Iqbal is now the most important person in Bangladesh Cricket Fraternity considering him being the captain of the ODI squad. The swashbuckling southpaw came into the squad as a young prodigy. His gritty 51-run knock against India in the 2007 World Cup is still etched into Bangladeshi fans’ memories. He showed promise to be a long racehorse.
Being part of four World Cups till now, Tamim hasn’t performed up to his standard. In the 2015 World Cup, he registered his highest World Cup score (95) against Scotland. But except that, Bangladesh missed his service quite a bit. In the last World Cup, the same story repeated when he got starts but couldn’t really capitalize on it.
But this time, Tamim has been handed over the captaincy as well. The stakes are high for the dashing left-hander, he needs to step up. He hasn’t been in great form of late, even in the series against Ireland he struggled. But as the matches are in sub-continent pitches he is believed to come good.
2. Mushfiqur Rahim ( 1104 runs in 28 innings and 28 dismissals in 29 innings)
Mushfiqur Rahim. (Photo Source: ICC)
Mushfiqur Rahim is the pillar of Bangladesh’s batting. A determined middle-order batter who was scouted well earlier by BCB. He’s a fine player of spin, technically sound with his glovework. The Bogura boy has been serving Bangladesh cricket for 18 long years.
Similar to his teammates, he also started off his World Cup journey with an unbeaten half-century against India in 2007. Since then, he hasn’t quite made it until the 2015 World Cup happened. He’s got the temperament to perform against big teams. His best 102* came against Australia at Nottingham. Besides, his 89 against England at Adelaide was rated highly.
Rahim is one of the most astute cricketers coming from Bangladesh. He reads the game tactically well and has experience of captaining his nation. Like his colleagues, he will be eager to give his last shot at the trophy and his best one.
1. Shakib Al Hasan (1146 runs and 34 wickets in 29 innings)
Shakib Al Hasan. (Photo Source: Twitter)
Shakib Al Hasan is one of the greatest all-rounders ever to grace the game of cricket. He is the poster boy of Bangladesh Cricket for a long time and rightly so. A career spanning more than 17 years at present, has seen Bangladesh Cricket evolve over time. The 36-year-old all-rounder made his World Cup debut way back in 2007 against India.
From that match onwards, he continued to shine both with bat and ball. Before the 2019 Cricket World Cup started, Shakib had done understandably well. But as soon as the ball started rolling in the UK, Shakib turned into a different avatar. In 8 innings he accumulated 606 runs, averaging 86.57(highest in that World Cup). His century against England at Cardiff was rated one of the best of that World Cup.
The boy from Magura believes bowling comes to him naturally. The slow left-arm orthodox has provided breakthroughs regularly. His best came against Afghanistan when he got fifer for 29 runs. He went on to score 51, becoming the only second batter after Yuvraj Singh to achieve a rare feat in Cricket World Cup history. Shakib has achieved everything he can except the ICC trophy. He has another chance to turn his dreams into reality.