Cricket World Cup 2023: Bangladesh

Having made their first appearance at the tournament in 1999, Bangladesh were quarter-finalists in the 2015 ODI World Cup, only to crash out in the group stage four years ago.

Under the stewardship of returning head coach Chandika Hathurusingha, they have claimed a number of big scalps, although not a lot is expected of the Tigers in India this year.

Bangladesh Cricket World Cup squad

Shakib Al Hasan (c), Mushfiqur Rahim, Litton Das, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Mehedi Hasan, Towhid Hridoy, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam, Hasan Mahmud, Nasum Ahmed, Mahedi Hasan, Tanzim Hasan, Tanzid Hasan, Mahmudullah.

Bangladesh Cricket World Cup coach

Former Sri Lankan all-rounder Chandika Hathurusingha first led Bangladesh between 2014 and 2017 and, at the time, was the most successful coach to lead the national team, guiding them to ODI series wins over India, Pakistan and South Africa.

Hathurusingha then took charge of his nation Sri Lanka for a two-year spell before returning to Bangladesh and guiding the Tigers to a 3-0 win over T20 champions England in his first series back at the helm.

Bangladesh have since had a tough time of it in the Asia Cup and Hathurusingha, who scored 669 runs and took 14 wickets in ODIs as a player, will be hoping to get his side back on track in time for the 2023 World Cup.

Bangladesh Cricket World Cup record

1975 Not eligible 
1979 Did not qualify 
1983 Did not qualify 
1987 Did not qualify 
1992 Did not qualify 
1996 Did not qualify 
1999 Group stage 
2003 Group stage 
2007 Super Eights 
2011 Group stage 
2015 Quarter-finals 
2019 Group stage

Possible XI

1. Towrid Hridoy
2. Litton Das 
3. Najmul Hossain Shanto 
4. Shakib Al Hasan 
5. Mushfiqur Rahim 
6. Mehedi Hasan 
7. Mahedi Hasan 
8. Mahmudullah 
9. Nasum Ahmed 
10. Shoriful Islam 
11. Taskin Ahmed

Strengths

As a team, things have not been going right for Bangladesh as a whole but in bilateral series, they have picked up a few decent results, beating Ireland 2-0 in an ODI series in May and England 3-0 in a T20 series in March. 

And despite their issues, there are some top talents in their ranks, most notably Shakib Al Hasan, who is one of the most accomplished all-rounders in world cricket.

Weaknesses

In short, their batting. Despite possessing some top talents such as Najmul Hossain Shanto and Shakib Al Hasan, Bangladesh have been struggling to post competitive totals.

This was particularly apparent at the Asia Cup with the team surpassing 300 runs in only one of their first four matches at the tournament - against Afghanistan - while they were bowled out for 164 against Sri Lanka, 193 against Pakistan and 236 against Sri Lanka second time around. 

Skipper Al Hasan has himself admitted batting performances have not been good enough and it is something he stressed the team must improve before the World Cup, along with their overall tournament record. 

Despite some decent scalps in bilateral series, Bangladesh often falter when it comes to major tournaments and that has been evident in the Asia Cup, while each of their last three ODI World Cup campaigns have featured just three victories.

Key Players

Shakib Al Hasan

Only Rohit Sharma (648) and David Warner (647) racked up more runs at the last ODI World Cup in 2019 than Bangladesh ace Shakib Al Hasan (606). 

The all-rounder is a legend in Bangladeshi cricket and ranks third in his nation's top ODI runscorer stats, with an average of 37.45 in the format. 

With the ball, he has performed even better and is Bangladesh's all-time leading wicket-taker in ODIs, claiming 307 scalps in 239 matches for his country. 

If Bangladesh stand any chance of making progress at this year's World Cup, Al Hasan - ICC's number one-ranked ODI all-rounder - will have to be on top of his game.

Najmul Hossain Shanto

Najmul Hossain Shanto's involvement in this year's ODI World Cup is a little uncertain after a hamstring injury ruled him out of the recent Asia Cup, but should he feature, he will be one of his side's most important players. 

The 24-year-old looked in good nick before sustaining his injury, striking 89 against Sri Lanka in August and 104 against Afghanistan at the start of September. 

In his relatively short ODI career so far, he has made an impression with an average of 29.71 and he could be key to resolving Bangladesh's batting issues.

Litton Das

Along with Musfiqur Rahim and Shakib Al Hasan, Litton Das is the third active Bangladesh player inside his country's top 10 all-time leading runscorers in ODIs. 

Considered a long-term successor to Rahim, Das averages 33.49 in the format and has scored five centuries in ODI cricket.

Odds

To Win Outright - 50/1