Bangladesh will kick start their campaign for ODI World Cup 2023 by playing Afghanistan at Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. Bangladesh’s performance in ODI World Cups hasn’t been pretty impressive over the years but they have managed to reach the next stage in the 2007 WC by qualifying for the Super Eight stage by defeating India and also reached the next stage in the 2015 WC by qualifying to the quarter-finals by defeating a giant side like England.
Here, in this article, we will have a look at Bangladesh’s playing XI for their WC 2023 opener against Afghanistan.
Openers: Tanzid Hasan-Litton Das
Tanzid Hasan is expected to open the batting in the absence of a big player like Tamim Iqbal who has played only five ODI matches in his career. Litton Das has been one of the most experienced campaigners for the Bangladesh side, hence this pair is expected to set the World Cup on fire.
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Middle Order: Najmul Hossain, Towhid Hridoy, and Mushfiqur Rahim
Najmul Hossain Shanto has been the leading run-scorer (698) for his side in ODIs in 2023. Mushfiqur Rahim stands second on the list for scoring 595 runs from 15 innings for Bangladesh in this calendar year in ODIs.
Towhid Hridoy has also scored 518 ODI runs from 15 innings in this calendar year (2023) at an average of 37.
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All-Rounders: Shakib Al Hasan, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Mahedi Hasan
Shakib Al Hasan the skipper of this side and also the number 1 all-rounder is expected to start without a doubt and the two off-spinners Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Mahedi Hasan are also expected to start in the XI. Mahedi Hasan despite playing only 8 ODI matches has shown a lot of promise and faith in his short career while Mehidy Hasan could be a very handy batter for their side in the lower-middle order position.
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Bowlers: Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, and Hasan Mahmud
Bangladesh will start with these three pacers Taskin Ahmed (21), Shoriful Islam (17), and Hasan Mahmud (16) who have been on the top list for taking the most ODI wickets for their side in 2023.
