The Asia Cup started two days ago, but the tournament begins today, Thursday, for Bangladesh. Litton Das’ team will face Hong Kong in Abu Dhabi. What would be Bangladesh’s playing eleven in their first match of the Asia Cup?
In batting, the responsibility of opening will rest on the shoulders of Tanzid Hasan and Parvez Hossain. These two openers have hit 45 6’s this year.
It can be said that there is a competition between them regarding hitting 6’s. In this competition, Tanzid is currently ahead. Tanzid has hit 23 sixes, while Parvez has hit 22.
Skipper Litton Das is in great form. Litton was the player of the series against Sri Lanka and was also the player of the series in the last series against the Netherlands.
This year, Litton also has the highest run-scoring record among the Bangladesh team in international T20s.
Litton has scored 417 runs in 15 matches with an average of 32.07. Litton, who has hit 19 sixes, also has a good strike rate-135.38.
Tawhid Hridoy, who has not scored a fifty in his last 12 innings, is most likely to bat at number four.
Although he is a bit out of form, Hridoy is one of the country's best in terms of T20 ability.
In that case, there is less chance for all-rounder Saif Hassan to be in the playing eleven.
After Hridoy, there are left-hander Shamim Hossain and wicketkeeper-batsman Jaker Ali.
Bangladesh’s probable team: Litton Kumar Das (captain), Tanzid Hasan, Parvez Hossain, Towhid Hridoy, Jaker Ali, Shamim Hossain, Mahedi Hasan, Rishad Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Tanzim Hasan, Taskin Ahmed.
Jaker’s place in the team is confirmed. Shamim will probably also play. Having a left-hander in the middle order can sometimes provide an extra advantage.
Shamim’s ability is quite good. He can bowl and is also excellent in the field. All-rounder Mahedi Hasan will play at number seven.
This is a weakness in the Bangladesh batting lineup because Mahedi is not very effective at scoring runs quickly. His strike rate in international T20s is only 100.25, having played 43 innings.
In bowling, Bangladesh is most likely to play with two spinners and three pacers. Besides Mahedi, Rishad Hossain could be the first choice as another spinner. Bangladesh will also get batting from this leg-spinner.
As pacers, Mustafizur Rahman and Taskin Ahmed could play alongside Tanzim Hasan. Bangladesh will also get batting from Tanzim. All-rounder Mohammad Saifuddin is also in the squad.
However, as a bowler, Tanzim is more effective than Saifuddin. He is also a regular face in the team now. And on the Abu Dhabi pitch, there is a higher possibility of more runs being scored.
Tanzim’s batting could be useful for Bangladesh. Therefore, Tanzim is ahead in the race to get a place in the Eleventh compared to another pacer, Shoriful Islam.
Bangladesh’s probable team:
Litton Kumar Das (captain), Tanzid Hasan, Parvez Hossain, Towhid Hridoy, Jaker Ali, Shamim Hossain, Mahedi Hasan, Rishad Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Tanzim Hasan, Taskin Ahmed.