India, the finalists of the 2023 edition of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup and winners of last year’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup will look to make an impact in the ICC Men’s Champions Trophy from the word go by getting one over Bangladesh in their tournament opener. The side are no strangers to success in the global event, having previously secured CT title wins in 2002 (co-winners with Sri Lanka) and 2013, as per a press release from ICC.
But this time around, Rohit Sharma’s side will be without their finest bowling asset and the ‘National Treasure’ as dubbed by batter Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, and have banked on a spin-heavy setup to get the job done for them in the tournament.
Their opponents first up are also good exponents of spin and have the capacity to dish out a surprise in big events. The Tigers will take inspiration from their 2007 50-over World Cup heroics against India and will back their experienced players to come good on Thursday.
*Recent form:
India: The tournament fancies enter the Champions Trophy in fine touch, after a wildly successful recent white-ball run against England. Hosts India clean-swept the visitors 3-0 in the ODI series that recently ended.
Before that, India handled England comfortably in the pair’s five-game T20I series, winning 4-1. Those seven wins, all in the last month, should give the squad confidence.
Bangladesh: Reading the form is not as straightforward with the Tigers. The national side had not played any cricket since December, when they toured the West Indies.
Bangladesh were comprehensively beaten in the three-match ODI series with the Windies, losing 3-0. They saved face somewhat by claiming all three T20Is in the Caribbean that followed the One-Day International cricket. In November, before they toured the West Indies, Bangladesh went down 2-1 to Afghanistan in an ODI series in the UAE.
Players in focus:
India: Arshdeep Singh
With Jasprit Bumrah unavailable for India, there will be an added spotlight on the team’s bowling attack. But heading into the tournament, there is optimism that 26-year-old left-armer Arshdeep Singh can handle new ball duties and potentially step into the incredibly large shoes left by Jasprit, who is recovering from a back injury. In nine ODIs of his career, he has taken 14 wickets at an average of 23.00.
Bangladesh: Mehidy Hasan Miraz
The 27-year-old all-rounder is at the peak of his powers and will need to deliver in all departments for the Tigers to make a dent at the Champions Trophy. From the aforementioned West Indies tour in December, Mehidy Hasan Miraz smoked 152 runs across three ODIs with an average of 50.66, striking at 84.91. He also claimed eight combined wickets across the T20I series in the Caribbean.
Squads:
India: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohd. Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, Varun Chakaravarthy.
Bangladesh: Nazmul Hossain Shanto (c), Soumya Sarkar, Tanzid Hasan, Tawhid Hridoy, Mushfiqur Rahim, MD Mahmud Ullah, Jaker Ali Anik, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Rishad Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Parvez Hossain Emon, Nasum Ahmed, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Nahid Rana.
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