Only one player in Bangladesh’s World Cup roster, top-order batsman Towhid Hridoy, has a T20 international strike rate above 130. Bangladeshi pitches are notorious for low-scoring games. Prior to the main competition, Bangladesh’s new skipper, Najmul Hossain Shanto, stated that the team can only aim to improve their dismal T20 World Cup record once they have better pitches at home.
The South Asian nation is unique among the nine nations that have participated in every T20 World Cup since the competition’s inception in 2007 in not having advanced past the group round. Najmul, who was only 25 years old when he was named all-format captain in February to take Shakib Al Hasan’s place as the newest politician, attributed their losses to home pitches that were not conducive to the kind of run feasts that were common in the 20-over format.
Najmul Shanto Hossain On Type Of Pitches At Home
Bangladesh’s Captain Shanto pointing the slow wickets in Bangladesh, He said :
“First of all, we have to play on good wickets. Some people can take it as an excuse, but it is really a fact that we play very few matches on a good wicket,”
“It is difficult to chnage in six months. If we continue on a good wicket for one or two years, then these strike-rates will improve,” said Najmul Shanto Hossain.
Despite this, ninth-ranked Bangladesh has begun to show signs of development in the short game, winning series at home this decade against formidable opponents like Australia, England, and New Zealand. However, there have been bumps in the road, including the USA’s 2-1 loss in this week’s three-match warm-up series in Houston.
“We have won a few series and we have won against big teams,” Najmul said before the USA series. “The confidence of the team is in a good position,”
“The matches we have played recently, if we can be like that in the World Cup, if we can take the decisions properly, if we can execute our plans, then it is possible to do something good,”
Giving It All Out There
With play starting in the United States and the West Indies on June 1, the T20 World Cup this year is probably going to be the final for some of Bangladesh’s most dangerous players. Prior to making a brief appearance for this month’s home series against Zimbabwe, Shakib, Najmul’s predecessor and current top-ranked T20 all-rounder, had not participated in a 20-over international for almost a year.
Following his election to the Bangladeshi parliament in January, all-rounder Shakib, 37, and Mahmudullah Riyad, 38, appear soon to put up their boots.
“Of course, I want them to play in the World Cup, giving their best,” Najmul said.“It is their decision when they will end their careers. As a captain, I would like them to share their experience with every player,”
Bangladesh, competing in just their second T20 World Cup, will have to contend with tough opponents in South Africa and Sri Lanka in their group, as well as the Netherlands. On June 7, they take on Sri Lanka in Dallas, a team with which Najmul’s men had a raging rivalry dating back to the ODI World Cup of the previous year.
Angelo Mathews of Sri Lanka became the first batsman to be timed out in international cricket history during their match in India, which caused a great deal of animosity. When Sri Lanka celebrated their victory in the T20 series by pointing to fictitious timepieces on their wrists during a visit of Bangladesh in March, the dispute was rekindled. Najmul accused Sri Lanka of not having “moved on” from the Mathews episode.
“We have already moved on,” From the day the incident happened, we did not do anything that would make us think about it. I can’t say much about them. But as a team, we are focusing on our own game.” he told AFP when asked about any lingering ill-will.
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