The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has announced the national team for the first two ODIS against England.The two teams will battle it out in the three-match ODI series, which starts on Friday, is followed by two Test matches.
The core Bangladesh team remains the same, but spinner Taijul Islam has been dropped from the team, and pacer Al-Amin Hossain has been included for the first two matches. Bangladesh looked a solid team in the recently concluded series against Afghanistan, as the Bangla Tigers clinched it 2-1.
Bangladesh have some experienced players in their ranks, which include Shakib Al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal and Mushfiqur Rahim, who all will be led by Mashrafe Mortaza in the series. The skipper will also be assisted by Taskin Ahmed and Amin in the pace department, while Mosharraf Hossain, Mosadekk Hossain and Shakib will be keen to trouble the English players with their spin bowling.
Overall, Bangladesh look a strong team on paper, but the home team is aware of the need to take their game a notch higher if they are to defeat a team like England, who will be brimming with confidence after their incredible win against Pakistan in their last series.
So, both teams come into this series with full confidence, which makes the contest even more fascinating. With Bangladesh being a strong team, and England being one of the powerful sides in world cricket, a cracker of a contest is expected.
Some of the English players including Eoin Morgan did not travel to Bangladesh due to security concerns, hence they will be led by Jos Buttler. Besides Morgan, Alex Hales also skipped the series. Irrespective of the team, which England have come for the ODI series, the Three Lions look a strong side, and Bangladesh have to play solid and consistent cricket to defeat England.
Bangladesh squad for two ODIs: Mashrafe Mortaza (c), Shakib Al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Imrul Kayes, Mosaddek Hossain, Mahmudullah, Nasir Hossain, Mushfiqur Rahim (w), Sabbir Rahman, Shafiul Islam, Mosharraf Hossain, Al-Amin Hossain, Taskin Ahmed
