Bangladesh have always been one of the strongest teams at home in world cricket. Their players have showed some good form in the recently concluded series against Afghanistan, defeating the Afghans 2-1 in the ODI series, but they will have to push themselves to the limit to defeat England in the upcoming three-match ODI series, starting Friday.
England also come into this series as a confident unit as the Three Lions played some quality cricket in the ODI format. They have defeated Sri Lanka and Pakistan in the last ODI series in a comprehensive manner. They were even more impressive in the ODI series against Pakistan, outplaying them in all departments to script a 4-1 win.
With such records against their name in the ODI format, they will not be an easy nut to crack for Bangladesh. But with both teams coming into series with impressive wins, one can expect quality cricket from Bangladesh and Pakistan.
England have been a consistent side when it comes to playing in pitches where there is bounce and pace, but they have been troubled, sometimes in the past, in slow and dry conditions. With pitches in Bangladesh assisting spinners more, England batsmen will need to handle the slow bowlers better.
England will also hope that their spinners including Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali can bring their A game, but they might depend on their quality seamers to deliver.
Coming to the teams of both Bangladesh and England, the hosts did not make many changes from the team that defeated Afghanistan. Taijul Islam has been dropped from the team, and pacer Al-Amin Hossain has been included for the first two matches. Their core team remains the same, with Mashrafe Mortaza leading Bangladesh, and it also includes a good mix of youngsters and experienced players.
However, some of the English players did not come to Bangladesh due to security concerns. Skipper Eoin Morgan is one of the big names missing, and the Three Lions will be led by Jos Buttler. Alex Hales also opted out while Joe Root has been rested for the series. Despite such players missing, they are a formidable side with stars like Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes and others, who are capable of helping the visitors win the series.
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.
England's ODI squad: Jason Roy, Sam Billings, Ben Stokes, James Vince, Jos Buttler (capt, wk), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Ben Duckett, Liam Dawson, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid,Jake Ball, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.
Bangladesh vs England ODI series schedule
1st ODI
Date: October 7
Time: 2.30pm local time (9:30am BST, 2pm IST)
Venue: Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur
2nd ODI
Date: October 9
Time: 2.30pm local time (9:30am BST, 2pm IST)
Venue: Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur
3rd ODI
Date: October 12
Time: 2.30pm local time (9:30am BST, 2pm IST)
Venue: Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, Chittagong
TV listings: India: Star Sports. UK: Sky Sports. Bangladesh: GTV. US: Willow TV.
