There are key factors behind Bangladesh’s disastrous World Cup campaign, but one of the major concerns is their under-performing pace bowling unit.
Expectations were high on the pacers ahead of the world event.
Bangladesh pacemen were in good form in the last couple of years, performing well with impressive numbers.
Injury to right-arm quick Ebadot Hossain was a big blow for Bangladesh but the other four speedsters Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, Mustafizur Rahman and Hasan Mahmud were known faces in the pace contingent.
Bangladesh picked five seamers in the 15-member World Cup squad as rookie Tanzim Hasan was included alongside Taskin, Shoriful, Mustafizur and Hasan.
However, the quartet - Taskin, Shoriful, Mustafizur and Hasan - managed to take only 19 wickets from seven games, which was way below expectations, while Tanzim has not played a match yet.
At this stage of the tournament, among the top 10 wicket-takers are seven pacemen and only three spinners.
Those eight are Dilshan Madushanka of Sri Lanka (18 wickets from seven innings), Marco Jansen of South Africa (17 from eight), Mohammed Shami of India (16 from four), Shaheen Shah Afridi of Pakistan (16 from eight), Jasprit Bumrah of India (15 from eight), Gerald Coetzee of South Africa (14 from six) and Haris Rauf of Pakistan (13 from eight).
And the remaining three slow bowlers from the top 10 list are Adam Zampa of Australia (19 from seven), Mitchell Santner of New Zealand (14 from eight) and Ravindra Jadeja (13 from eight).
Before Bangladesh’s eighth game against Sri Lanka Monday, let’s take a look at how the Tigers pacers have performed in this World Cup so far:
Taskin Ahmed
Taskin was the spearhead of the Bangladesh pace unit as he was in good shape and nice rhythm before the world event. He has performed well in the last few years after returning to the national fold across all three formats. The right-arm quick had high motivation to do well in the World Cup, considering that he was excluded from the squad at the last moment before the 2019 edition due to off form and injury. But he has bagged only four wickets in the five games that he played, which is well below expectations. Injury also hindered his full rhythm as he missed two matches.
4 wickets in 5 matches, average: 51.25, strike rate: 52.5, ER: 5.85, BBI: 2/43
Shoriful Islam
Shoriful started the tournament well as he picked up two wickets against Afghanistan and three against England in the next encounter. But in the following five games, he notched only three more scalps. The left-arm pacer, who is one of the opening bowlers, remained wicketless against India, New Zealand and Pakistan.
8 wickets in 7 matches, average: 44.75, strike rate: 41.37, ER: 6.48, BBI: 3/75
Mustafizur Rahman
Mustafizur possesses loads of experience playing in different venues across India having featured in the Indian Premier League, but the left-arm pacer has not been at his best in this World Cup so far. Mustafizur only grabbed four wickets in seven games at a strike rate of 84. Although he is often used to check the runs in middle period or death overs, his recent form and wicket-taking ability with the new ball has not been replicated in this tournament.
4 wickets in 7 matches, average: 80.5, strike rate: 84, ER: 5.75, BBI: 2/36
Hasan Mahmud
Hasan got two chances in the playing XI when Taskin got injured, but failed to shine on both occasions. Previously known for accurate bowling with good line and length, he conceded 65 runs from eight overs against India, taking only one wicket. Against the Proteas, he leaked 67 runs from six overs for his two scalps.
3 wickets in 2 matches, average: 44, strike rate: 28, ER: 9.43, BBI: 2/67
