ICC World Cup 2019 – Match 16: BAN vs SL – Bangladesh Predicted Playing XI

It was an off-day for Bangladesh when they faced England in their last game. While the team has played some extremely competitive cricket in the tournament, that match was a complete bummer. Now, the Bangla Tigers have got two consecutive defeats under their belt as they face Sri Lanka in the next game.

Sri Lanka has been showing a few signs of brilliance. But there hasn’t been a collective effort from the players as a whole. Considering the recent form, Bangladesh will go into this game as the favourites and will look to avoid the third consecutive defeat. There could be a few changes that Bangladesh will want to make for this crucial encounter.

Here is the Predicted Playing XI for Bangladesh:

Openers (Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar)

The way the openers have been performing in this tournament has been one of the biggest let-downs for Bangladesh in the tournament. They have only managed to put up one fifty-plus partnership thus far and that too when Soumya Sarkar went all guns blazing. The form of Tamim Iqbal has been particularly concerning. Being one of the most experienced players in the side, he was expected to play at least one big knock by now.

But his highest score in the tournament thus far has been just 24. He’s been taking his time and consuming deliveries at the start of his innings. But he is getting out as soon as he gets anywhere around the 20-run mark which is disappointing. Soumya Sarkar, who has also been in excellent form of late, has failed to utilise it well. He is hitting the ball well, doing almost everything right but is throwing his wicket away. Both of them should get big scores against Sri Lanka.

Middle Order (Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Sabbir Rahman)

Shakib Al Hasan might not have the kind of start he’d have expected with the ball. But, with the willow in hand, he’s just been unstoppable. After registering two half-centuries in the first two games, the southpaw made it big and got to a wonderful hundred against England. He will continue to be the key in the Bangladesh middle-order.

Mushfiqur Rahim is another important player in this middle-order. In the last two matches, he didn’t have the most fruitful of outings. While he was run-out in one game, he got out for 44 against England chasing a steep target. Along with Shakib, Mushfiqur should look to solidify the middle order. Bangladesh is likely to rope Sabbir Rahman in place of Mohammad Mithun in this game. Rahman also doubles up as a handy leg-spinner.

All Rounders (Mahmudullah, Mosaddek Hossain, Mohammad Saifuddin, Mehidy Hasan)

Mahmudullah and Mosaddek Hossain must do better with the bat. Both these players getting into the 20s and then getting out will not help the team’s cause. They should look to be more consistent with their performances. Mosaddek didn’t have a great outing with the ball either in the last game. Thus, both these players should improve upon their performances in the upcoming encounter.

Mohammad Saifuddin has done well at times but there have also been moments where he gave in to the pressure. He executes a great yorker and has got good variations. He should be a little more smart about using them in the important junctures of the game. Mehidy Hasan will the other spinner in this team. He picked up two wickets in the last match against England.

Bowlers (Mashrafe Mortaza (c), Mustafizur Rahman)

Mashrafe Mortaza has looked quite rusty in the tournament. The Bangladesh skipper has leaked runs and has struggled to pick up wickets. It is important for him to catch up with some form soon as he’ll be important for Bangladesh’s plans. Mustafizur Rahman is the other pacer in this line-up.

The left-arm pacer has managed to pick up wickets. But he should look to work on a few more variations as he is getting just too predictable. Only the slower off-cutter and the stock delivery wouldn’t trouble the batsmen much. He conceded 75 runs in 9 overs in the game against England.