Batting approach in spotlight as Tigers gear up for Zimbabwe challenge

Since the start of the last year, Bangladesh have been a decent side in T20Is, having won 11 out of their last 17 matches. Their only series defeat during this period came recently against Sri Lanka although they came agonisingly close to winning it. 

But has the format progressed too far for Bangladesh to catch up? Even though it's an exciting time for the Bangladesh T20I team, they haven't been very dynamic with the bat. 

They have played most of their matches on decent pitches since 2023 but the run rate of 7.9 shows they have a lot to ponder given the recent high-scoring trend in the format.

While most of the teams try to kill the game in the powerplay itself, Bangladesh have not been able to go hard in the first six. Since 2023, they have a run rate of 7.61 in the powerplay, which is well below-par by current T20 standards. 

Litton Das has tried to take the attack to the bowlers in the recent past in the powerplay but his patchy form across formats has been a real cause of concern. Soumya Sarkar, tipped to be his opening partner in the T20 World Cup, is still recovering from an injury.

Bangladesh will have the opportunity to try out Tanzid Hasan, likely to be the back-up top-order option in the World Cup squad, against Zimbabwe. The southpaw was unlucky to miss out on a spot in the last Sri Lanka series after a prolific Bangladesh Premier League (384 runs at a strike-rate of 135). 

The hosts will keep a close eye on Tanzid particularly because of his ability to utilise the powerplay. The left-handed batter is known for his quick starts and if he finds some form in his debut T20I series, it will be good news for them going into the mega event. 

Najmul Hossain Shanto, often under the scanner for his low strike-rate in T20 cricket, has to find a way to be more positive as the number three batter and the captain of the team. 

Bangladesh's lack of intent at the top can also be associated with their historical scarcity of firepower in the middle and lower middle-order but right now they have a host of players who can smack the ball in those positions. 

The emergence of big-hitting young players in the form of Towhid Hridoy and Jaker Ali is a breath of fresh air for the home side. Mahmudullah, back in the T20I fold with the Sri Lanka series, showed a lot of intent and ability to hit boundaries. 

Rishad Hossain's spin-hitting prowess makes him a strong contender for the role of a floater and with Mohammad Saifuddin back in the side, they now have a pace-bowling all-rounder in the mix too.

The likes of Taskin Ahmed and Shoriful Islam have developed some big-hitting muscle as well and the batting depth might give the Tiger top-order batters the license to go hard at the top.

Host skipper Shanto said everyone is given the freedom to play their natural game but admitted that the lower-order firepower will help them post bigger totals.

"Every player has that freedom. It doesn't matter who is batting towards the end. Everyone will play their role. Everyone has the ability to bat with freedom," he said.

"But it's true that some big shots towards the end will boost the team. So [the batting depth] will obviously help," he added.

On the other hand, Zimbabwe, although missing out on a World Cup spot, will be quietly confident after beating Sri Lanka in a T20I earlier this year.

"I think we are fairly evenly matched and I think it will be a competitive series. I just hope it's an entertaining series and inshallah it will be. And the last thing you want fans to have is a boring series that they do not enjoy. But if you look at our history, the majority of the time, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe have played very entertaining cricket. And it will remain the same, Inshallah," their captain Sikandar Raza said.