How badly Bangladesh has struggled with the bat in T20 cricket can be understood by the fact that among all 16 teams that are going to feature in the upcoming WT20, their batting average is the worst and Strike Rate is only marginally better than Zimbabwe.
From the squad they have chosen for the tournament, Litton Das's strike rate of 126.01 is the highest among all who have batted considerably. With such lesser batting abilities, and no experience to play T20 cricket on Australian soil, Bangladesh look certain to struggle big time with the bat in the marquee tournament.
Though their bowling stocks have been fairly good and they have done better than many top sides in different aspects. Also, their good bowling statistics is not due to playing against weaker sides, as they have played plenty of matches against top sides.
Squad of 2021 & 2022:-
As many as 8 players who were part of the 2021 squad, could not make it to the squad of 2022. Considering the fact that WT2021 & WT2022 are happening almost within a year's time, so many changes in the squad are the testimony of their struggle to form a good squad in this format.
Overview of the current squad:-
Experience is something which is considered negligible at times in T20 format, as young guns are preferred by many teams. But at the big stages like the World Cup, it counts. Bangladesh will certainly miss the experience of Mushfiqur Rahim & Mahmudullah this time around, as they are not in the squad due to retirement and continuous poor form respectively.
Comeback of Litton Das and Nurul Hasan will bolster their batting unit, as both have done pretty well for them in the recent past. In the name of specialist batsmen, Bangladesh have not chosen many as only Sabbir Rahman, rookie Yasir Ali and Nazmul Hossain Shanto appear there.
Spin department is pretty stout with Shakib as the leader of the pack, and the likes of Mehidy Hasan Miraz & Mosaddek Hossain as the assistants. They also have Nasum Ahmed as the specialist spinner who trumped Mahedi Hasan in the race for the final squad.
In pace block, there will be experienced Mustafizur Rahman with Taskin Ahmed & the all rounder Mohammad Saifuddin as his companions. Ebadat Hossain & Hasan Mahmud- the two talented young pacers- complete the group of 6 pace bowling options in the squad.
Five all-round options in the form of Shakib Al Hasan, Afif Hossain, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Mosaddek Hossain & Mohammad Saifuddin will be pivotal for Bangladesh in terms of forming a good playing XI.
Strength:-
Availability of plenty of all-round options has always been the strength of Bangladesh in shorter formats of the game. It allows them to play extra batsmen in the playing XI which is a luxury in T20 cricket. Bowling can also be considered as their strength as their numbers depict.
Infact, the highest wicket taker in T20IS, is none other than the Bangladeshi Shakib Al Hasan.
They also have Mustafizur Rahman at their disposal who is one of the most impressive pacers in this format, and his cutters can be pretty useful on the big grounds in Australia.
Weakness:-
Luxury of hard hitting batsmen has always been elusive for Bangladesh. As discussed earlier, their team batting strike rate is pretty ordinary in this format, which is an apparent weakness in a T20 team. Their first super 12 game will be their first ever T20 appearance on Australian soil. Going into a big tournament like the World Cup without having any experience playing a certain type of cricket in those conditions, will go down as a flawed aspect of a team.
Opportunity:-
Bangladesh have been placed with India, Pakistan, & South Africa in the group 2 of super 12 stage. Two teams after the qualifier stage will also join the group. Given that India, Pakistan and South Africa are pretty strong units and only two teams will qualify for the next stage, chances for Bangladesh are bleak as of now.
Keeping aside the possibility of some improbable results, Bangladesh can just hope to earn some valuable experience of playing against top sides on a big stage, and in the conditions they don't play much cricket.
Threat:-
Bangladesh is a team which relies on their bowling more in this format. And that bowling strategy mostly revolves around spinners. As Australian pitches are less likely to assist spin much, most of their all round options other than Saifuddin, will collapse to remain as batting options only. In case of this possibility, Bangladesh's performance can go extremely downwards.
Expected playing XI:-
Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Sabbir Rahman/Nazmul Hossain Shanto, Shakib Al Hasan (C), Litton Das, Afif Hossain, Mosaddek Hossain, Nurul Hasan (wk), Yasir Ali, Mohammad Saifuddin, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman
