There was a strong chance of a few adjustments in the final Bangladesh T20 World Cup 2022 squad when the selectors made the announcement last month. As expected, Soumya Sarkar and Shoriful Islam have been included in the team in place of Sabbir Rahman and Mohammad Saifuddin. Let’s have a look at how strong the Tigers' twenty20 setup is for the main event.
Why has the BCB included Soumya and Shoriful in the World Cup squad?
All-rounder Mohammad Saifuddin and hard-hitter Sabbir Rahman were excluded from the Bangladesh squad to make way for opener Soumya Sarkar and pacer Shoriful Islam. In light of Saifuddin and Sabbir's recent series performances, is dropping them justified? There are no noteworthy performances that support any of the players.
Saifuddin has the lowest economy rate (10.51) in the last two international series in the UAE and New Zealand. Sabbir Rahman, on the other hand, has the lowest strike rate (86.66) among batters. Therefore, leaving them out of the final squad was the right move.
What about Soumya Sarkar and Shoriful Islam? Do they deserve to be in the squad? Soumya played only two matches and scored 27 runs with a strike rate of 128.57, while Shoriful Islam picked up five wickets in four innings with an economy rate of 8.45 in the most recent two Twenty20 International series. Clearly, the latter has a more solid reason and has proved that he is among the best pacers in Bangladesh at the moment.
Soumya’s case is a bit different. The selectors always wanted a left-handed batter in the lineup. But Soumya’s constant failure on the international stage had forced the think tanks to keep him among the standby players.
Someone from the initial main squad had to play badly to make way for Soumya. Unfortunately, that cricketer was Sabbir Rahman, who once again failed to impress the selectors with the bat. But why was Soumya picked despite showing virtually nothing in the two matches he played in the tri-nation series? One valid reason is his track record on fast, bouncy pitches. Soumya’s bat usually shines when playing on hard pitches. His 153.98 strike rate in T20Is on New Zealand wickets is the best among the Bangladesh players. He is the second-most run scorer (174) in the Twenty20 format among the Bangladesh players in New Zealand. It’s not unknown that Australian conditions will be quite similar to New Zealand's.
The selectors' expectation of Soumya is that he will show his true potential in the top-order during the T20 World Cup 2022. Can Soumya fulfill the expectations? That will soon be revealed, but no one can deny the fact that the BCB has a clear reason to pick him up for the squad.
Bangladesh’s twenty20 World Cup 2022 squad at a glance
Apart from making two chances, the rest of the squad remains the same for Bangladesh. The Tigers have five genuine batters, four all-rounders, and six bowlers in the squad. Shakib Al Hasan will lead the Bangladesh team during the World Cup and wicket-keeper Nurul Hasan Sohan will act as his deputy.
The most in-form batter is Litton Das, who has 180 runs in the past 6 innings with a strike rate of 140.62. Afif Hossain is in second position with 159 runs in 6 innings, followed by Shakib Al Hasan with 154 runs in 3 innings with a magnificent strike rate of 150.98.
Among the bowlers, pacer Shoriful Islam bagged the most wickets with five in the last two international series. Hasan Mahmud, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taskin Ahmed, and Ebadot Hossain all had decent outings in the previous two series with satisfactory economy rates.
Bangladesh will play their first Super 12 match against the runner-up of Group A on October 24. Three days later, on October 27, they will face South Africa. Bangladesh’s third match will be against the Group B winner on October 30. After that, the Tigers will take on India on November 2 and finish their group stage fixtures with a match against Pakistan on November 6.
Shakib Al Hasan (captain), Soumya Sarkar, Litton Das, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Afif Hossain, Yasir Ali, Mosaddek Hossain, Nurul Hasan, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Nasum Ahmed, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Ebadot Hossain, Hasan Mahmud, Shoriful Islam
Way Forward
Despite Bangladesh's lackluster recent T20 international record, the selectors made an effort to assemble the strongest team for the T20 World Cup 2022. Captain Shakib Al Hasan has to work on boosting the players' confidence so they can give it their all on the field. Bangladesh can have a decent success if the players are able to meet the expectations during the tournament.
