Asia Cup 2018: 4 Bangladeshi players to keep an eye on

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) announced their 16-man squad for the Asia Cup that is set to kick off from 15 September in the UAE. Bangladesh have done very little of note in the previous editions, failing to win the tournament even once, despite making the final on two occasions.

This time around things might be a bit different. Mashrafe Mortaza and his team start off their campaign against Sri Lanka. The island nation, 5-time winners of the competition have fallen off the radar in recent times but still, start as the favourites to make it to the next round.

The Tigers have had a woeful record against the Islanders, having won only 6 matches out of 44. Times are changing, having beaten Sri Lanka by 163 runs at the start of the year.

In this list, we look at 4 Bangladeshi Players, who really deserve extra attention in the prestigious tournament:

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#4 Mushfiqur Rahim

He is considered as one of the best batsmen that Bangladesh has ever produced.

Mushfiqur Rahim is definitely one of the best batsmen that Bangladesh has ever produced, and he is getting better by the day. Mushfiq has bagged plenty of runs around the globe. He had saved his side from many embarrassing defeats, even converting some of them into historic victories.

Despite the recent poor form, where he failed to score even a single fifty versus the West Indies, Mushfiq remains as the lynchpin of the Bangladeshi middle-order, who can one-handedly change the fortune of a match.

During the last 12 months, Bangladesh have played a total of 11 ODIs. During this period, Mushfiq has scored 430 runs at an average of 47.77 with three half-centuries and a century to his name. This record is bettered only by Tamim Iqbal.

Mushfiq’s vast experience of playing 187 ODIs and scoring 4828 runs with 5 century and 29 centuries could be the best fuel for Bangladesh to fulfil their Asia Cup dream.

#3 Mahmudullah Riyad

A roaring Mahmudllah is something that Bangladeshi fans expect always.

The all-rounder loves the big stage. The stats back up this claim. All three of his ODI centuries have come in ICC events, two of them been notched up in the 2015 World Cup, while the third came during the 2017 Champions Trophy.

Mahmudullah is an inherent stroke maker, but he can anchor the innings as well. The stylish right-hander was a part of the Bangladesh team that reached the finals of the Asia Cup twice.

On both occasions (2012 and 2016), Mahmudullah and his team ended up on the losing side. But this time, Mahmudullah is a more effective batsman. On his day, he can smack the best bowlers beyond the boundaries.

Mahmudullah has thus far played 156 ODIs and can bat anywhere according to the needs of the team. His right arm off spin can play a monumental role when the team needs it.

With many roles to play in his trunk, Mahmudullah can turn into a real match winner from his unsung hero-type image in Bangladeshi cricket. A couple of explosive innings in the Carribean Premier League puts him in good stead for the upcoming Asia Cup.

#2 Liton Das

Liton Das is eager to bring his golden runs of domestic cricket to the international arena.

His name still sounds unfamiliar to the global spectators of Bangladesh. Liton is one of the best batsmen that Bangladesh has produced in recent times. But he is yet to prove himself in the international arena. The right-handed opener has played only 12 ODIs, failing to bring his domestic form onto the international fold.

Despite this poor record, Liton is all set to open the innings in the Asia Cup with Tamim Iqbal. He is considered as the long-term solution for sad-saga of Bangladesh’s opening problem.

The batsman is now dogged to draw the real attention in the highest level of cricket. If he can translate his potential in the middle, Bangladesh will sure get another cushion to lean on.

#1 Mustafizur Rahman

Triumph of Mustafiz might be reintroduced in the Asia Cup.

The southpaw is now really fit to start the new campaign for Bangladesh. After starting the cricketing career in style, Mustafiz had to pass the most difficult times of his life due to several injury problems.

Mustafiz found his form that he had displayed early on his cricketing days during the West Indies tour of Bangladesh. He scalped 12 wickets in just 6 games. That performances of Mustafiz made the Bangladesh team management upbeat for the Asia Cup.

A full-fit Mustafiz can do the serious damage to any batting line-up in the world. He proved it by taking 56 wickets in his first 30 matches. The hope of Bangladesh in the Asia Cup is heavily relying on the shoulder of the Mumbai Indians bowler.

In a recent interview, Bangladesh bowling coach and Caribbean legend Courtney Walsh has insisted that Mustafiz is turning into a new version of him.

This complement of Walsh made Bangladeshi fans more optimistic about the success in Asia Cup, and the same thing is now a new root of worries for the other participants of the tournament.