Tigers seek turnaround against India
Skipper Mahmudullah Riyad, Tamim Iqbal, Mushfiqur Rahim, interim head coach Courtney Walsh and team manager Khaled Mahmud were seen engaged in a meeting after Bangladesh's training session at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on the eve of their first Nidahas Trophy match against India today.
Amid a lean patch that dates back to the disastrous tour of South Africa in September-October last year, Bangladesh see this tri-nation T20I tournament as an opportunity to overcome the string of bad results that includes series defeats in all three formats at home to Sri Lanka earlier this year.
The Tigers will be under immense pressure as they come into the match on the back of just one win from their last 10 encounters in the shortest format of the game and despite missing some big names, the number one side in the world remain a force to be reckoned with.
The main mantra for Bangladesh on this tour is to avoid pressing the panic button when faced with difficult situations and a 41-run win in the practice match against a SLC President's XI, where Bangladesh had a good outing in all three departments, will provide some confidence.
However, it will be important for the think tank to form a balanced playing eleven, which was yet to be finalised until yesterday. It was learnt that Bangladesh may opt for three seamers in Rubel Hossain, Taskin Ahmed and Mustafizur Rahman.
Left-arm spinner Nazmul Islam, who impressed on debut against Sri Lanka with his economical bowling and tight line and length, is also expected to feature in the line-up while the team management will have to decide whether they will go for a second spinner in the form of Mehedi Hasan Miraz or include seam-bowling all-rounder Ariful Haque, whose ability to hit the ball hard in the lower-middle order could prove an asset in this format.
Liton Das had a good outing in the warm-up game, looking in fine touch as he scored 40 off just 18 balls, and the team management will have another decision to make between selecting him or sticking to the out-of-sorts Sabbir Rahman at the number three position.
Mushfiqur Rahim will slot in at number four followed by skipper Mahmudullah Riyad while wicketkeeper-batsman Nurul Hasan, who was in fine fettle during the Dhaka Premier League, also has a chance to make the playing eleven.
Soumya Sarkar, who failed to score a single run in the warm-up game, is expected to retain his place to open the innings alongside stalwart Tamim Iqbal.
India will also come into the match with some considerable weight on their shoulders after falling to a five-wicket defeat to Sri Lanka in the tournament opener and the Men in Blue's relatively inexperienced bowling attack will remain an area of concern for Rohit Sharma and his troops.
They may include another spinner in the line-up to partner leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal and left-arm spinner Axar Patel is expected to fill that role and return to the playing eleven.