Bangladesh vs Afghanistan ICC World T20 2014 Qualifier Preview: Teams face-off in tournament opener
ICC World T20 2014 Preview: Bangladesh vs Afghanistan
By Nishad Pai Vaidya
Mar 15, 2014
This isn’t the main draw, but there is some interest as the home side tries to make it to the next round. Bangladesh will face Afghanistan in its first game of the ICC World T20 2014 at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur. This is qualifying tie in Group A. Apart from these two teams, Hong Kong and Nepal form the rest of the group. Thus, this game could have huge consequences on the fate of the group. After all, only one team would go through. With the other teams not as strong, both Bangladesh and Afghanistan have a huge chance of assuring their chances in this encounter.
Bangladesh have a good side with the right balance for the conditions. Their batsmen are explosive and the spin-bowlers hold the key on the slow surfaces. Although they lost all their games at the recent Asia Cup 2014, the two wins in the warm-ups will give them confidence. This in many ways is a revenge game for the embarrassment they faced at losing to Afghanistan in the Asia Cup. On the other hand, Afghanistan would back their talent to come good and hope for an encore.
The return of Tamim Iqbal is an encouraging development for the Bangladesh team. They have this explosive opener at the top and it would be good combination with Anamul Haque, who is in good form from the Asia Cup. Mainly, Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim hold the key. In the warm-up against Ireland, they were in blistering form and set the tone for the tournament. Both can be quite destructive and this will hold the key for Bangladesh. Nasir Hossain and Mahmudullah Riad also would be useful down the order.
It would be interesting to see what bowling combination Bangladesh picks. In Shakib, they have a left-arm spinner and will also bring in Abdur Razzak. Mashrafe Mortaza is in the side and has to play. Which means, they may have to choose between Rubel Hossain and Al-Amin Hossain. Sohag Gazi would be a good option with his decent batting and off-spin.
Afghanistan would want their batting and fielding to raise the bar during the tournament. Karim Sadiq will be a good option to open the batting given his attacking instinct. Mohammad Shahzad, the wicketkeeper-batsman, will also be a good option to open the batting as he has donned the role in the past.
Nawroz Mangal and Mohammad Nabi are the stable batsmen in the middle-order with Asghar Stanikzai being the mainstay. They may also look at Samiullah Shenwari to provide some fireworks.
Shapoor Zadran will lead a bowling attack that does not have Hamid Hassan. Gulbadin Naib may come into the side, with more responsibility of Mirwais Ashraf as well. But, it looks like Dawlat Zadran is the more likely candidate to take the new ball with Zadran, unless Nabi plans to take it himself with his off-spinners.
The whole nation would watch Bangladesh as they expect qualification. There would be pressure no doubt, especially since Afghanistan beat them in the previous encounter.
Squads:
Bangladesh: Mushfqur Rahim (c), Tamim Iqbal, Anamul Haque (wk), Mominul Haque, Shakib Al Hasan, Nasir Hossain, Mahmudullah Riad, Shamsur Rahman, Abdur Razzak, Sohag Gazi, Rubel Hossain, Mashrafe Morataza, Al-Amin Hossain, Sabbir Rahman, Farhad Reza.
Afghanistan: Mohammad Nabi (c), Karim Sadiq, Mohammad Shahzad (wk), Asghar Stanikzai, Nawroz Mangal, Samiullah Shenwari, Najibullah Zadran, Mirwais Ashraf, Shapoor Zadran, Gulbadin Naib, Najeeb Tarakai, Dawlat Zadran , Aftab Alam, Hamza Hotak, Shafiqullah.
Time: 15:00 IST | 09:30 GMT
(Nishad Pai Vaidya is Correspondent with CricketCountry and anchor for the site’s YouTube Channel. His Twitter handle is @nishad_44)
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