Eight Bangladesh players will be making their ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup debut in India.
Among the eight, four are from the victorious campaign at the 2020 ICC Under-19 World Cup – Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Towhid Hridoy, Shoriful Islam and Tanzim Hasan Sakib.
The Tigers have only ever won two International Cricket Council events, the other being the 1997 ICC Trophy.
Having reigned supreme in the age-level tournament, the quartet will now be looking to put their Midas touch for the senior side too, and guide the cricket-crazy nation to glory in the biggest 50-over event.
Three years ago in South Africa, the junior Tigers began their mission by topping a group comprising Pakistan, Zimbabwe and Scotland.
They then outclassed the hosts in the quarter-final and New Zealand in the semi-final before reserving their best for the final against neighbors India.
In a pressure cooker situation, Bangladesh U-19 held their nerve to prevail by three wickets (Duckworth-Lewis method) and clinch the world title, and all four played starring roles throughout the competition.
The country will be hoping they replicate their U-19 success in India and at least two are guaranteed to start against Afghanistan in the opening game in Dharamshala on October 7.
Barring injury, Tanzid, otherwise known as Tamim Jr, will come out to open the innings while Hridoy is set for a place in the middle-order.
For Tanzid, a maiden call-up to the World Cup squad was supposed to be a cause for celebration.
However, it was overshadowed completely by the hullabaloo surrounding the shock decision to overlook his namesake, Tamim Iqbal, from the 15-man contingent.
This is what the selectors had to say on the 22-year old’s World Cup inclusion: “We have seen a number of openers in recent times. Tanzid was in our High Performance unit. He performed well recently in the Emerging Cup in Sri Lanka. Now he got a few opportunities (in the international stage). We are hoping he can show his worth with more opportunities in the World Cup.”
Like Tamim Sr, Tamim Jr too is a left-hander by trade and goes about his stroke-making ways in a dashing style, similarly to his senior teammate.
And Tanzid has started his World Cup journey in the best possible fashion, hammering 84 off 88 balls, including 10 fours and a couple of sixes, against Sri Lanka in the first warm-up match in Guwahati on September 29, and a stroke-filled 44-ball 45, studded with seven boundaries and a maximum, against England in their last practice game at the same venue on October 2.
As for Hridoy, he has begun his senior career like a duck to water, and already scored five fifties in 15 trips to the crease in One Day Internationals.
The key feature of the right-hander’s batting is his ability to rotate the strike in pressure situations and later accelerate when required.
Tigers assistant coach Nic Pothas on the 22-year old Hridoy: "He has a high ceiling in terms of his skills. He has a lot of potential and a desire to learn. I am excited for what he can do."
Depending on the condition, pitch and opposition, Bangladesh are likely to deploy three pacers – Mustafizur Rahman, Taskin Ahmed and Hasan Mahmud – in the playing XI more often than not in the flagship event.
That will leave the other two pacemen – Shoriful and Tanzim – on the bench.
But with the men in red and green playing nine games in 36 days – an average of one match every four days – and a further two in the following eight days should they advance to the grand finale, either one or both may get the nod as the tournament progresses.
If and when the chance comes, right-arm seamer Tanzim will be desperate to show his mettle.
Tanzim had an ODI debut to remember against India in the recently concluded Asia Cup, making 14 useful runs off just eight balls and later bagging two wickets, including that of captain Rohit Sharma in just his second delivery.
After his memorable debut however, the 20-year old came under fire as some controversial posts from his social media page went viral, provoking anger among women's rights activists.
He will be eager to put the recent events behind him, provided he features in the playing XI, and make headlines on the field, as opposed to off it.
His former U-19 colleague Shoriful too will be chomping at the bit to get out on the field and show what he is capable of.
The six-feet three-inch left-arm fast bowler is in good rhythm and form this year, grabbing 16 wickets in eight ODIs at an economy rate of 4.96.
The 22-year old, most experienced among the quartet having made his debut in all three formats in 2021, can be a trump card for Bangladesh in the world event, given his capability to swing the ball and extract pace and bounce from the surface.
All told, the four cricketers are promising assets for the side and bring their title winning experience to the table – something the Tigers can draw from as they dream of achieving something big and make the country proud.
