Bangladesh has never won an Asia Cup. Their best finish was reaching the final, most recently in 2018. To expect them to flip that script this year feels unrealistic from afar. For one, they are without the seniors who redefined their brand of play for almost a decade. For another, their bench strength is thin. Closer up, however, this squad looks the most like a modern T20 side Bangladesh has ever assembled.
And this unannounced transformation into a more T20-tailored team has already produced results, albeit in a small sample. Bangladesh has toppled Sri Lanka, who share their group, and Pakistan in recent months. None of those wins were flukes either; Bangladesh were onto something in each of those, and perhaps a little throttle could help them reproduce a similar performance in the tournament as well.
Squad Overview:
Openers taking the leather off the ball
Openers knowing how to exploit the power play to its fullest are really one of the most desired commodities in any format of cricket, T20Is more so. Bangladesh has that, at least for now. In Tanzid Hasan and Parvez Hossain Emon they have a pair that follows the opening memo thoroughly. They may not be the most reliable options, but that’s hardly a deal-breaker in T20Is. Since last year’s T20 World Cup, Hasan and Emon have opened more regularly than ever and struck at a strike rate north of 140, which is why Bangladesh does not need to fret over their top two.
That is somewhat similar for the next couple of spots, too. Litton Das is an assured starter at first drop. Under his own captaincy, he moved into the role and has since come out of his rut. Since the start of last year, he has made four T20I half-centuries, three of them in the past couple of months.
Middle-order struggling to find the sweet spot
Incidentally, Bangladesh’s six-hitting ratio has dropped four balls over the years. Between 2021 and 2023, batters took 9.6 balls to launch a maximum in the shortest format. That figure is now down to 5.58 in 2024–25, thanks to the top and upper-middle order bringing a revolution to the old ways. Barring the openers, and to some extent Das, Jaker Ali has been central to this shift. Since the T20 World Cup ended, Jaker has hit the most sixes for Bangladesh, 26 in total, which is what makes him close to indispensable in the team.
But Bangladesh will have to ponder over the volatility of their late middle order. In most games since the previous T20 World Cup, Shamim Hossain, Jaker Ali, and Mahedi Hasan have shouldered that responsibility. The problem is that Shamim and Mahedi, in particular, overlap as finishers, which at times leaves the order above them under undue pressure.
The Towhid Hridoy Question:
Towhid Hridoy was built for big things. And don’t get me wrong here; he still could go for those, but for that to happen, he will have to synchronize his skills and his execution. If you have watched him play, you know what potential he has, but that will be as good as nothing for Bangladesh unless he translates it into consistency.
Bangladesh have recalled Saif Hasan for the first time since 2023, and his performance for Bangladesh A in the Top End series showed he wasn’t just a random addition. While he has rarely played at the No. 4 spot, with Hridoy struggling at the spot, Saif could be the antidote. He also offers part-time offspin, giving him another edge.
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Spin downgrade
Bangladesh has a bowling lineup that they can bank on, but that’s more true for their pacers than spinners. While not exactly poor, their spinners have regressed from the previous generation. In the lead-up to the previous T20-format Asia Cup, their spinners were carrying much of the bowling load, but that disparity has completely flipped, with pacers running the hard yards now. For Bangladesh, or any team for that matter, in UAE conditions, their spinners will need to rediscover a killer instinct if they are to last deep into the tournament.
Rishad Hossain, at this point, is the best bet they have. When he gets going, there’s rarely a need for anyone else to do so. But that also hasn’t happened much this year. When compared to his bowling stats last year, when he took 35 wickets at an average of 19, his returns this year, 10 wickets at 19, seem middling at best.
Shoriful or Tanzim Hasan Sakib for the pace attack
Bangladesh experienced something recently, which they aren’t quite used to, and that’s having enough depth in pace bowling resources to rotate them. In the Asia Cup squad, they have as many as five decent fast bowling options. Taskin Ahmed and Mustafizur Rehman would be the first-choice pacers, and could be joined by either Shoriful Islam or Tanzim Hasan Sakib, though Mohammad Saifuddin’s time in the domestic T20 competition this year brings him up the pecking order as well. While Shoriful’s left-arm pace makes him an attractive prospect, Sakib brings something more valuable, and that is batting finesse. The young pacer has a T20I fifty, and with Bangladesh already vulnerable with the lower order, he might find favour.
Bangladesh Squad for Asia Cup
Litton Das (captain), Tanzid Hasan, Parvez Hossain Emon, Saif Hassan, Tawhid Hridoy, Jaker Ali Anik, Shamim Hossain, Quazi Nurul Hasan Sohan, Shak Mahedi Hasan, Rishad Hossain, Nasum Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, Saifuddin
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