Daily Times

Only qualifiers Netherlands are ranked lower in the men’s ODI rankings than Bangladesh and Afghanistan, meaning both of these teams will need a string of upsets in order to reach the semi-finals. But both teams have plenty of talent and are capable of troubling the world’s best, particularly in conditions that play to their strengths, which will be the case in some of the venues at this tournament. Victory in Dharamsala for either side would boost those semi-final chances, but conditions may not favour the teams’ strengths. Afghanistan have three of the top ten in the MRF Tyres ICC ODI Bowling Rankings, all of whom are spinners, while Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan remains one of the best in the world.

Yet history suggests that spin goes the distance in Dharamsala, with short boundaries and high altitude meaning that quick bowlers have had more wicket-taking impact at the ground.

Evergreen skipper Shakib Al Hasan continues to re-write the record books on the eve of his fifth World Cup. with the Bangladesh star still holding on to the No.1 ranking in the category for ODI all-rounders. Shakib has previously appeared at the 2007, 2011, 2015 and 2019 editions and amazingly held on to the No.1 ODI all-rounder ranking at the start of every tournament since his second appearance in 2011. The veteran is also Bangladesh’s highest-ranked bowler at 17, while Mushfiqur Rahim has their best ranking for batters at 21. Afghanistan have two players inside the top three in the ODI rankings category, with former captain Mohammad Nabi leading the way as the No.2 ranked all-rounder. Spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman is third in the ODI bowler rankings, while fellow tweaker Rashid Khan (fourth) is not far behind in this category and is widely regarded as one of the best white-ball players in the world game, thanks largely to his efforts in the shorter format, and will be key to his team’s chances.

Bangladesh head into their World Cup opener against Afghanistan on Saturday with coach Chandika Hathurusingha saying a place in the semi-finals is a “realistic” goal for his side. Hathurusingha was criticised by former captain Tamim Iqbal for a lack of ambition when he said in a recent interview that those who talked about Bangladesh winning the World Cup should “wake up”. But he told reporters at a pre-match press conference on Friday: “We all want to win the World Cup but as you rightly asked me realistically is that if we win four to five games, we give ourselves a chance to get into the semi-final of the knockout stage — that’s our first aim.”

Questioned about his “dream” remarks, Hathurusingha said he was trying to reduce the stress on his squad. “My job is to take the pressure off the players,” he explained.

Bangladesh have yet to reach the last four in their six World Cup appearances. But a couple more wins at the 2019 edition in England could have seen them into the knockout phase. And with this year’s World Cup using the same format — where all 10 teams play each other to decide the semi-finalists — Hathurusingha believes his side, playing in familiar conditions, can go where no Tigers side has gone before. “I think we have a good enough team to do that – our first aim is to getting to the semi-final stage,” he said. The 55-year-old former Sri Lanka batsman added: “People can dream, people can aim, people can have goals. Whatever the word you use, it is the same thing. “We’re trying to have a good World Cup and win matches. That’s the main aim for me…Our aim is to get into the semi-final, that can be a dream or can be an aim — doesn’t matter.”