Nidahas Trophy 2018: Here is Bangladesh Predicted XI

In a bid to outsmart two of the biggest cricketing nations in the subcontinent, Bangladesh has a golden opportunity in the Nidahas Trophy. The Indian selectors have rested most of the senior players like Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah and MS Dhoni. They’ve given an opportunity to a lot of youngsters in Washington Sundar, Deepak Hooda, and Mohammad Siraj.

Sri Lankan cricket team has been under-confident for a long period of time now. Henceforth, this is one great opportunity for the Bangladesh unit to go all out. Given they can manage to win this Nidahas Trophy, it’ll be one of the finest achievements in their cricket history, if not the greatest.

But one big loss for them is the absence of their senior most player Shakib Al Hasan, who has been ruled out due to an injury. That leaves a huge void in the middle order and also in the bowling lineup as Shakib has probably been their best bowler for a long time now. Nevertheless, Mahmudullah will be confident in pulling off a decent show.

Openers – Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar

A lot of pressure will be on Tamim Iqbal to deliver big since he’s their best player in the last decade or so after Shakib. The southpaw has been in decent form off-late and will be keen to put up a fine performance. Iqbal is currently representing the defending champions of the Pakistan Super League, the Peshawar Zalmi and is expected to join the side in a short while.

Soumya Sarkar is another fine young player, who was impressive in the T20Is against South Africa last year. He will be eager to bolster his command in this series. Despite all the aggression and ability he has, the youngster is due some big knocks in big matches.

Middle Order – Liton Das, Mahmudullah Riyad (C), Sabbir Rahman

Liton Das might come into the XI to bat at number 3, a position where we’ve seen Shakib bat earlier. The southpaw will have a big role to play taking up the most important batting position in the lineup. Skipper Mahmudullah has always been a good contributor in big games, his performance in the 2015 World Cup being a testament to that fact.

Sabbir Rahman is back with the side after serving a suspension from BCB. Nasir Hossain is another option waiting on the bench and given Sabbir is not firing, it won’t be a big surprise if he gets axed. He and Mahmudullah might be playing the role of a finisher for the side.

Wicket-keeper – Mushfiqur Rahim

Mushfiqur Rahim might be batting at number 4 in the lineup and will be the undisputed keeper in the side. The 29-year-old has been outstanding in the ODIs and Tests in recent times, despite failing to perform in the recent times in the shortest format. His experience will be invaluable in this series as winning the trophy would mean a lot more to his side than the other two.

Mushfiqur always relished playing against India and his records suggest the same. His record against Sri Lanka is also decent since both these countries don’t have speedsters who can bowl real quick, something that lits the eyes of the little maestro.

All-rounder – Ariful Haque

Ariful Haque has performed exceptionally well at the first-class level. His exploits in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) paved way for an International debut against Sri Lanka last month. The 25-year-old might not be getting an awful lot with the bat, but with the ball, he must deliver a good 3 or 4 overs for his skipper.

His first-class record indeed is quite impressive, scoring almost 3,000 runs with the bat and is always a decent contributor with the ball. This will be a big series for the youngster as his future might as well depend on these performances. It will be test or character and temperament as he needs to fill in the shoes of Shakib Al Hasan as the all-rounder in the side.

Bowlers – Nazmul Islam, Mehidy Hasan, Mustafizur Rahman, Taskin Ahmed

Nazmul Islam and Mehidy Hasan will remain the nucleus of this incredible team. Both these spinners were exceptional in the recently concluded Bangladesh Premier League and despite all the bowlers failed to perform in the Sri Lanka series last month, these two managed to return with decent figures. A lot will depend on how Mahmudullah will use these canny bowlers.

Taskin Ahmed with his raw pace and agility impressed everyone one in his debut against India. But the lad failed to perform with the same amount of consistency post then. Nevertheless, he has the ability in the arsenal to change the game with his extra pace, a facet Mahmudullah will definitely value. Mustafizur Rahman has had a mediocre season with the ball, but one can never disregard this gem of a talent.

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