Bangladesh have partaken in five T20 World Cups but have won a mere two matches so far. Somewhere, it capuslises the point that the Nigar Sultana-led Bangladesh aren’t one of the favourites to progress from Group B of the 2024 T20 World Cup, where they would up against England, South Africa and the West Indies. Here’s a short analysis on the strengths and weaknesses of the Bangladesh side.
Strengths:
Sultana
The Bangladesh captain is also their best batter. The wicketkeeper-batter has played in 99 T20Is, compiling close to 2000 at an average of 27 and strike rate of 90.16. Not surprisingly, she was the fulcrum of the batting unit in the recently-held Asia Cup, accruing 142 runs at an average of 142. She is one of the only two Bangladesh batters to have crossed the 1000-run mark in women’s T20Is. Fargana Haque is the other one to have done that. Sultana also is very chirpy behind the stumps.
Bangladesh’s spinners
The spin department is clearly one of the main features of Bangladesh’s line-up. Nahida Akter, Sultana Khatun, Shorna Akter and Fahima Khatun bring the necessary variety to the spin attack. Nahida, the left-arm spinner, in particular has the required skills and experience to succeed at the highest level. She has 152 scalps in international cricket, out of which 99 have come in T20Is.
Weaknesses
The batters lack intent
One of the key areas of concern is the batters don’t seem to play with positive intent. None of their key batters, including Sultana, have a strike rate of over 100. The best of the lot is Dilara Akter, who has a strike rate of exactly 100 after playing15 games. Although her average is at a lowly 12.2.
Lack of belief in their approach
Even if you look at their overall approach towards cricket, Bangladesh seem to lack the self belief to usurp fancied sides. Bangladesh would be hoping to beat Scotland. And if their spinners come into play, they perhaps have a small chance of upsetting the West Indies.