Having reached the quarter-final during the last World Cup and going one-step further in the Champions Trophy by reaching the semi-final, Bangladesh has become a team to be reckoned with
in the 50 over format.
With an experienced squad which contains players like skipper Mashrafe Mortaza, Shakib Al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal, Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah, who all will be featuring in their fourth World Cup, Bangladesh are a team that has the capabilities to make the big teams sweat out for a victory against them, which their opponents would be wary of.
Along with the experience, the squad also contains talents like Mosaddek Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman and Mehedi Hasan that adds versatility and another strength for the team is that they have largely remain unchanged ever since the last champions trophy and most of the players will be aware of the conditions going into the World Cup.
In order to prepare themselves for the big event, they recently played a tri-series in Ireland alongside West Indies and Ireland and remained unbeaten in the tournament and won the series, their first-ever series featuring more than two teams and the victory would have given a boost to their confidence.
Their fortunes will however depend on how their fast-bowlers perform in flat pitches in this World Cup, their pacers include, the likes of Mustafizur, Rubel Hossain, Mohammad Saifuddin, and the uncapped Abu Jayed. The experience of Shakib and the yound Mehidi will look to control the game in the middle overs with their spin.
The batting unit is loaded with experience with Tamim at the helm, followed by Mushfiqur, Mahmudullah, and Shakib and with youngsters like Soumya Sarkar, Liton Das, Sabbir Rahman, Mosaddek Hossain, and Mohammad Mithun, they have a stable batting unit but their success will depend on how well they can perform against some big teams and they also need to be consistent throughout the tournament.
With their skipper Mashrafe Mortaza, playing probably in his last series, Bangladesh will look to give him a good farewell by playing well. In the recent past we have seen Bangladesh crumble during the pressure moments and if they try to manage not doing that, they will be able to go a long way in the tournament.