Bangladesh is a nation which is passionate about its cricket. To play in front of Bangladesh crowd is a different experience altogether. And to see them transform into the team they have become is much to the delight of the average citizen of Bangladesh and people who want hard-working underdogs to win in world cricket because that inspires a whole new generation of people to work hard in their own spheres and achieve something commendable.
Bangladesh has been brilliant in their recent years. They have defeated Pakistan, India, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Afghanistan in their encounters with top class team in the recent years. In the recently concluded Bangladesh-England Series, Bangladesh gave a tough competition to England and it wasn’t a walk in the park for England. Perhaps this process was started way back in 2005 when Bangladesh’s Ashraful steered his country home by scoring a match-winning 100 against the Aussies. Then, they knocked out India in the 2007 World Cup and reached the quarter-finals of the 2015 World Cup.
Bangladesh at any point of time did not had as much balance in their squad as they do have now. With Mortaza, Taskin and the young bowling sensation Mustafizur heading the pace department their bowling is not just a decent unit. The batting has become outstanding in the recent years. Tamim Iqbal has become consistent with experience, Soumya Sarkar has all the ingredients of a wonderful batsman in him; wicket keeper batsman Mushfiqur Rahim, and not to forget the man who scored two consecutive centuries for them in world cup Mahmudullah. Shakib Al Hasan provides just that extra edge to the team and with the latest discovery of Mehedi Hasan, you just can't afford to take them likely. With all units functioning well, they just need to execute their strategies well.
Bangladesh must convert their limited overs success in the test matches. They might also need a calmer head on their shoulders because this is just that phase of Bangladesh Cricket which might open new doors for them and it is very important to stay focused and know that it isn’t over until its actually over otherwise the victory might just slip out of their hands, just like what happened in the World T20 2016.
May the tigers continue to roar in world cricket.
