Bangladesh will tour the USA for a three-match T20I series in May, ahead of the T20 World Cup. The two sides have never played a T20I against each other before and will use the series to prepare for the flagship tournament co-hosted by the USA and the West Indies.
USA will also play Canada in a five-match T20I series in April. All the games will be hosted by Prairie View Cricket Complex in Houston, Texas.
Bangladesh have played two T20Is in the USA across their history, both against West Indies, in 2018, and with the first two games of the campaign – against Sri Lanka and South Africa – scheduled in Dallas and New York respectively – a series going into the tournament will help them get used to the conditions.
“For the Bangladesh Team, this tour serves as an ideal platform to acclimatise to the conditions ahead of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024,” NizamUddinChowdhury, CEO, Bangladesh Cricket Board, said. “We recognise the significance of this preparatory phase and are committed to making the most of this invaluable experience.”
Bangladesh were knocked out in the group stages of the previous T20 World Cup and will hope to put on an improved show after an indifferent ODI World Cup.
USA and Canada, who are set to feature in the tournament for the first time – will kick off proceedings in Dallas on June 2. The fives T20Is USA have played in the last two years all came in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Qualifier in July 2022. The only T20Is Canada played in the last year were in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Americas Region Final, which they won to qualify for the World Cup.
“Ahead of the important Men’s T20 World Cup, these games will be vital for our team to get their working combinations, build team cohesion, and fine-tune strategies,” said Mr. VenuPisike, Chairman of USA Cricket.
Canada and USA are part of Group A – along with India, Ireland, and Pakistan – in the T20 World Cup. Bangladesh are part of group D, and will play against Nepal and Netherlands in Kingstown in the West Indies.
Bangladesh’s fast bowling once again stepped up in a match-winning effort, with Tanzim Hasan Sakib becoming the latest source of their joy. The 21-year old snatched the momentum from a dominant Sri Lanka in the first ODI, taking three wickets in his first spell after the visiting openers got off to a rapid start in Chattogram.
Tanzim removed PathumNissanka, Avishka Fernando and SadeeraSamarawickrama in successive overs, to reduce them to 84 for 3. Sri Lanka couldn’t recover from that cluster of early wickets, with Shoriful Islam and Taskin Ahmed each going on to match Tanzim in picking up three-fors. It was only the third time in Bangladesh’s history that the fast bowlers totaled nine or more wickets in an ODI innings. It is no surprise that all three instances are from the last 12 months, a period considered to be Bangladesh’s pace revolution.
Taskin and Shoriful made impressive comebacks in the match after getting a bit of tap in their first spells. Taskin is considered the natural leader of this fast-bowling group, identified first by Ottis Gibson when he was the bowling coach. Later Allan Donald, too, regarded him as the best of the lot. Shoriful has also come of age, particularly after he was briefly dropped last year.
