Wicket-keeper batsman Akbar Ali will lead Bangladesh’s 15-member squad who will travel to South Africa for the 2020 U19 World Cricket Championship.
Ali also led the Bangladeshi Under-19 team in their last home game against Sri Lanka: they won the 4-0 draw in the five-day international junior series after the first game was abandoned without bowling. The 18-year-old was two half-centuries old in the series and scored five goals behind the wicket in the third game.
He was also a good guy on Bangladesh’s New Zealand tour in October, scoring two goals over 60 in five games. Bangladesh won the youth ODI series 4-1 when Ali finished with an average of 72.50.
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Everything there is to know about the upcoming Under 19 Cricket World Cup 👀 pic.twitter.com/Hb9GTQrMdd
— Cricket World Cup (@cricketworldcup) December 19, 2019
Tawhid Hridoy, who scored 82 *, 123 *, 115 and 111 points in his last four appearances for the U19s in Bangladesh, was appointed Ali’s deputy. The right-hander was the best scorer against Sri Lanka with 431 runs and a mammoth average of 215.50. Opener Tanzid Hasan, who scored the most goals in five games against New Zealand with 280 goals, has also retained his place in the team.
The left-wing Shoriful Islam was included in the tempo quota. The 18-year-old has been wearing 35 YODI scalpels since January 2018 – most for every Bangladeshi bowler during this time. The right-arm Pacer Tanzim Hasan Sakib, who topped the wicket charts in 2019, was also included. The 17-year-old returned to six goals in three games against Sri Lanka.
Off-spinner Shamim Hossain (right arm) and Orthodox bowler Rakibul Hasan (left arm) were also drafted in. They are Bangladesh’s second and third strongest wicket-takers this year.
The Bangladeshi Under-19 team will confidently enter the 2020 World Cup after winning their last three bilateral series. They also reached the U19 Asia Cup final earlier this year, missing just five runs against India.
Bangladesh’s best result at the U19 World Cricket Championship was achieved in 2016 when it reached the semi-finals under domestic conditions. They won the record competition twice and won over the West Indies and Australia in 1998 and 2004.
Bangladesh plays in Group C of the 2020 U19 World Cricket Championship along with Pakistan, Zimbabwe, and Scotland. They will start their campaign against Zimbabwe on January 18 in Potchefstroom.
Bangladesh U19 Squad For ICC U19 Cricket World Cup 2020
Akbar Ali (c), Tawhid Hridoy, Tanzid Hasan, Parvez Hossain Emon, Prantik Nawrose Nabil, Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Shahadat Hossain, Shamim Hossain, Mohammad Mirttunjoy Chowdhury Nipun, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Avishek Das, Shoriful Islam, Mohammad Shahin Alom, Rakibul Hasan, Hasan Morad
