JOIN USTigers face tough test of survival
Bangladesh will need a dramatic turn in fortunes to ensure another World Cup does not cause more misery after the Tigers endured a morale-sapping year in which they slumped from one defeat to another.
Bangladesh failed to register wins for most of 2014 till fellow wooden-spooners Zimbabwe came calling at the end of the year and were duly thrashed 3-0 in Tests and 5-0 in the ODIs.
It was only Zimbabwe the Tigers had beaten, but fanatical fans in the South Asian nation celebrated as if the World Cup itself had been won.
Bangladesh have struggled at Test level -- winning just seven of their 88 Tests since their debut in 2000 -- but have always appeared more suited to the shorter format where they have recorded creditable wins.
A five-wicket win over Australia at Cardiff in 2005 was their moment of glory till they knocked India out of the 2007 World Cup to move beyond the first round for the only time in the tournament.
Bangladesh must beat at least one of the big four in Pool A — co-hosts Australia and New Zealand, Sri Lanka and England — and also win against both Afghanistan and Scotland to keep their quarterfinal hopes alive. A must-win scenario awaits them in the first match itself — against Afghanistan in Canberra on February 18 — because a loss like the one they suffered against the same rivals at the Asia Cup at home a year ago could prove costly.
"The kind of squad we have, I am confident we can reach the quarterfinals," Mashrafe Mortaza, who replaced Mushfiqur Rahim as one-day captain last year, told AFP.
Former captain and current selector Habibur Bashar wanted Bangladesh to aim big, saying it was not enough to target just Afghanistan and Scotland.
"The players should believe they can defeat any team in the group. On those true pitches Down Under, any total can be chased down," Bashar said.
The focal point of Bangladesh's campaign will be the skillful 27-year-old all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan, who has been the team's mainstay ever since his international debut eight years ago.
The left-hand batsman and left-arm spinner goes into his third World Cup as the top-ranked all-rounder in all three formats, a tribute to his consistency with both bat and ball over the years.
Shakib is the only player in the team who has experienced Australian conditions recently, having turned out for Melbourne Renegades in the Big Bash Twenty20 tournament.
Another player to watch is 22-year-old left-arm spinner Taijul Islam, who grabbed eight for 39 against Zimbabwe in Dhaka in only his third Test to record the best Test figures ever by a Bangladeshi bowler.
Competition will be tougher at the World Cup, but the exciting young talent could spring a few surprises.