Bangladesh ODI team will play a 3-match limited over series against the host New Zealand starting from March 20. For the second time in a row, Bangladesh will play a bilateral series in New Zealand without their star cricketer Shakib Al Hasan. He has been granted paternity leave by the BCB. Shakib’s absence will give a huge opportunity to both Afif Hossain and Mosaddek Hossain to step up and showcase their talents in difficult New Zealand conditions. Will Bangladesh be able to show fighting spirit against a strong New Zealand side in the ODI series? Let’s analyze the Bangladesh ODI team for the New Zealand tour 2021.

Bangladesh ODI Squad for New Zealand Series 2021

BCB announced a 20-man ODI squad for the series. The selectors have included seven fast bowlers in Bangladesh ODI Squad as New Zealand condition usually suits for the pacers. The team also contains three spinners and a notable number of all-rounders.

Left-arm spinner Nasum Ahmed earned a maiden call up for the national side, while Mosaddek Hossain has returned to the Bangladesh squad after a fruitful all-round display in the recently concluded UAE T10 league.

Captain Tamim Iqbal, and two other senior members of the team: Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah Riyad are available for the series and they will have to take extra responsibility to marshal the troops against the Kiwi side.

Also read: West Indies series: Bangladesh ODI, Test teams announced

Bangladesh's 20-man ODI squad for the Bangladesh vs New Zealand series 2021:

Tamim Iqbal (Captain, Top order), Mosaddek Hossain (All-rounder), Najmul Hossain Shanto (Top order), Mushfiqur Rahim (Wk & Middle order), Mohammad Mithun (Middle order), Liton Das (Wk & Top Order), Mahmudullah Riyad (All-rounder), Afif Hossain (All-rounder), Soumya Sarkar (Top order), Naim Sheikh (Top order), Taskin Ahmed (Fast medium), Al Amin Hossain (Fast medium), Shoriful Islam (Left-arm fast medium), Hasan Mahmud (Fast medium), Mohammad Saifuddin (All-rounder), Mustafizur Rahman (Left-arm fast medium), Mehidy Hasan Miraz (All-rounder), Mahedi Hasan (All-rounder), Rubel Hossain (Fast medium), Nasum Ahmed (Left-arm orthodox)

Bangladesh tour of New Zealand: 2021 vs 2019

On paper, the present side is more versatile than the 2019 Bangladesh ODI squad for the New Zealand series but the team lacks experience. Mashrafe Mortaza captained the team tigers in 2019 but his side suffered heavy defeats in all 3 matches against the Blackcaps. For this time, Tamim Iqbal has to chalk out a suitable game plan to put pressure on the home side for a positive outcome.

In 2019, Tamim Iqbal, Liton Das, and Soumya Sarkar formed the top three batsmen. Among them, Soumya was the top scorer with 52 runs but he will bat at no.7 in the upcoming series.

Najmul Hossain Shanto is likely to replace Soumya to take the no.3 spot despite had an ordinary outcome in the recently concluded home series against the Windies. So we can’t expect him to do an extraordinary performance in a rather challenging New Zealand condition.

Also read: BCB announces Bangladesh squad for New Zealand tour

In the middle order, either Afif Hossain or Mosaddek Hossain will take the vacant Shakib Al Hasan spot. Mithun played a big part in the 2019 series but he is no longer remain the first choice no.5 batsman in Bangladesh playing XI. While Bangladesh team may choose four faster bowlers including Mohammad Saifuddin to form a rather pace-heavy attack.

Overall, this Bangladesh squad has some talented players and match winners to upset the New Zealand side. 

The probable Bangladesh ODI XI in the New Zealand series

Tamim Iqbal, Liton Das, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Mushfiqur Rahim, Afif Hossain/Mosaddek Hossain, Mahmudullah Riyad, Soumya Sarkar, Mohammad Saifuddin, Hasan Mahmud, Mustafizur Rahman, Rubel Hossain

Series results will affect ICC ODI Super League Points table

Stats suggest that the Bangladesh ODI team yet to win a match in New Zealand against the host nation, which clearly indicates coming up top against the Blackcaps in their own backyard would be an astronomical task for Bangladesh.

Besides in search of the first win in New Zealand, this ODI contest is very crucial for Bangladesh to stay firm in the ongoing ICC Cricket World Cup super league. Bangladesh started off their ODI super league campaign with a thumping 3-0 series victory at home against a second-tier Windies side last month. The Tigers are currently in the second position with 30 points just behind Australia, who are topping the table with most 40 points.

Also read: Shakib granted BCB’s permission to skip NZ tour

Bangladesh needs more than 150 points from their scheduled bilateral super league series. Therefore winning a match in the series would be a great result for Bangladesh to concrete their place in the points table.

Bangladesh ODI captain Tamim Iqbal said the Tigers have the ability to achieve something new in the upcoming series against New Zealand. 

Bangladesh national team left Dhaka for New Zealand on Tuesday at 4pm (Bangladesh time) on a Singapore Airlines flight. Tigers will play a three-match ODI and three-match T20I series in this tour. 

Ahead of this tour, Bangladesh played a three-match ODI and two-match Test series against the West Indies at home. 

Also read: BCB to introduce robust contract policy for players: Nazmul Hassan

After coming back from the New Zealand, Bangladesh are scheduled to tour Sri Lanka for a two-match Test series. 

Tamim is hopeful of conquering the fear of the condition of New Zealand. “We know how tough the condition of New Zealand is for us. But it’s not impossible (to do well there). I hope we can achieve something there that we never had,” he said on Tuesday. 

“We’re confident of doing well in New Zealand,” Saifuddin, the pace-bowling allrounder, told the media at BCB earlier in the day. “We’ll get two weeks of time to practice ahead of the main series. I think it will help us prepare well.”

Also read: BCB announces Bangladesh squad for New Zealand tour

The first ODI of New Zealand tour will take place on March 20 at the University of Otago Oval, Dunedin while the second and third ODIS will be played on March 23 and 26 at the University of Otago Oval, Dunedin and Basin Reserve, Wellington respectively. The first and last ODI will kick off at 4am while the second ODI at 7am (Bangladesh time). 

The three-match T20Is series will be played on March 28, 30 and April 1 at the Seddon Park, Hamilton, McLean Park, Napier and Eden Park, Auckland. The first of these matches will kick off at 7am while the last two at 12pm (Bangladesh time). 

Also read: Shakib granted BCB’s permission to skip NZ tour

Tamim will lead Bangladesh in ODIs while Mahmudullah Riyad will be captain in the T20Is. 

Bangladesh played 35 ODIs and seven T20Is against New Zealand and won 10 ODIs, none of those was in New Zealand. Bangladesh are yet to win a T20I against the Blackcaps. 

Bangladesh squad for New Zealand tour: Tamim Iqbal, Musaddek Hossain, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mohammad Mithun, Liton Das, Mahmudullah Riyad, Afif Hossain, Soumya Sarkar, Mohammad Naim, Taskin Ahmed, Al Amin Hossain, Shoriful Islam, Hasan Mahmud, Mohammad Saifuddin, Mustafizur Rahman, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Rubel Hossain, Mahedy Hasan, Nasum Ahmed.

Aspiring cricketers will soon get a chance to learn the intricacies of the popular game directly from the Master Blaster -- Sachin Tendulkar. And that too, free of cost.

The cricket legend has been roped in as its brand ambassador by an Indian education tech startup, Unacademy, to coach and mentor children and teenagers planning a career in the bat-and-ball game. The live interactive classes can be accessed free of cost by anyone on the Unacademy platform.

On the "strategic partnership" with the Unacademy Group, Sachin said: "It has always been my endeavor to share my learnings of the game with young girls and boys and inspire them to be the best version of themselves."

Also read: Ex-Indian skipper Dhoni creates new world record with over 30m instragram fan

"As a learning platform, Unacademy has always bridged geographical boundaries by making learning accessible from any part of India. When my vision matched with Unacademy’s mission to democratise education, we decided to come together to create a unique learning experience,” the former Indian skipper added. 

In a release, Unacademy CEO Gaurav Munjal said, "With this partnership, we are creating an unmatched learning experience by having Sachin share his life lessons with our learners and coach them. We are working on developing a deeper content-led partnership, the contours of which will be revealed in the coming months."

Also read:Good pitches key to Test cricket's revival, says Sachin Tendulkar

Widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket, Sachin retired in October 2013 after playing his 200th Test match against the West Indies in his home town Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium. It was a 24-year-long stint since his Test debut in November 1989 against arch-rival Pakistan in Karachi at the age of 16.

Sachin was also conferred India's highest civilian award, the Bharat Ratna, in 2014 by then President Pranab Mukherjee. And since his retirement, 'The God of Cricket' who captained India twice during his career, has garnered fans in the startup community also -- playing the role of an ideal civilian mentor to the young minds of India.

Also read: Investing in startups second innings of Sachin Tendulkar's life

UNB had earlier reported about Sachin's big success off the cricket field by encouraging entrepreneurship and investing in a number of startups -- from Internet of Things (IoT) company Smartron to fashion firm Universal Sportsbiz to travel firm Musafir to sports entertainment company Smaaash and sports investment firm FidelisWorld.

Sachin is the highest scorer of all time in International cricket, having more than 30,000 runs in his kitty. He is also the only cricketer in the world to play 200 Tests and score as many as 100 international hundreds. He has amassed 18,426 runs from 463 ODIs at an average of 44.83 and 15,921 runs from 200 Tests.

In 2010, Time magazine included Sachin in its annual Time 100 list as one of the 'Most Influential People in the World. "Sporting geniuses like Sachin are rare phenomenons and we are privileged to have seen him in action," then ICC Chief Executive David Richardson, who played for South Africa against the legend in 1990s, said at the latter's final Test match.

Bangladesh left-arm pacer Mustafizur Rahman on Tuesday said he will always prefer playing for the national team over anything if the board selects him.

Bangladesh team is all set to fly to New Zealand on Tuesday afternoon to play a three-match ODI and three-match T20 series against the hosts. Before leaving Dhaka, Mustafizur talked to the media at the BCB National Academy.

Also read:IPL 2021: Rajasthan Royals pick Mustafizur

“National duty comes first for me,” Mustafizur told the media. “If BCB selects me for Sri Lanka Tests, I must take part in that series, but if they overlook me, they know better.”

Earlier this week, Bangladesh allrounder Shakib Al Hasan had asked to not consider him for Sri Lanka Tests as he is more eager to play the Indian Premier League (IPL) for his Kolkata Knight Riders.

The Sri Lanka Test series and the IPL are likely to take place at the same time. To avoid a conflict, Shakib asked BCB to allow him to skip Sri Lanka Tests, and BCB responded in his favor saying.

Mustafizur Rahman will also play this IPL for Rajasthan Royals— the team who had roped him in in the last IPL as well, but due to national duty, BCB didn’t allow him a NOC. But this time around, Mustafizur might be given NOC to play IPL.

Also read: Mustafizur shines as Chattogram beat Khulna

“I will play IPL only if BCB allows me,” Mustafizur added. “If BCB doesn’t allow me to play IPL, I’m okay with that. I’m not taking any extra pressure to play IPL.”

Mustafizur got inducted into IPL in 2016 when he represented Sunrisers Hyderabad and bagged 16 wickets to guide the Sunrisers to their maiden title. He played for them another season but failed to impress. After a one-year gap, he played for Mumbai Indians as well. He played a total of 24 matches in IPL and scalped as many as wickets.

Also read: Mustafizur to miss out IPL despite two approaches

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Nazmul Hassan on Monday said the board is working to introduce a robust policy for centrally contracted players. 

In a sudden move, Bangladesh allrounder Shakib Al Hasan recently opted to skip a Test series of Bangladesh to take part in the Indian Premier League (IPL). His decision to prefer a foreign league over Bangladesh’s Test series came as a shock to the board. But the board has approved Shakib’s appeal as they are reluctant to force a player to play for the national team. 

“We cannot deny it (the board is becoming reliant on the players). But this is not new. We are very clear that we won’t force anyone to play for the national team. Those who don’t want to play can skip. If anyone is more interested to play somewhere else denying his national duty, they are free to go. This message is for all, not only for Shakib,” Nazmul told the media after an unofficial board meeting on Tuesday. 

Also read: BCB announces Bangladesh squad for New Zealand tour

“We have discussed a new policy for the national contract. The previous contract has ended. Now, we are working on a new contract, and we’ll introduce something new this time. In the new contract, every player has to make it clear what they want to play, and they will also have to make it distinct if they’ll play for Bangladesh or not when they have other opportunities,” he added. 

Nazmul also said that it made him upset that a player is deciding to avoid national duty when the team is struggling to do well in Tests. He rather expected the players would concentrate more so that they can erase the past mistakes and come up with something good in the coming series. 

“We need to know how many players are reluctant to play Tests so that we can concentrate more to make ready a new bunch of the guys who are interested to play Tests. We know it’ll take some time, but we’ll have a good future,” Nazmul added. 

Also read: Shakib granted BCB’s permission to skip NZ tour

In the recently concluded two-match Test series against West Indies, Bangladesh lost 2-0. Shakib was part of the first match but he could bowl only six overs due to a groin injury which eventually forced him out of the second match. 

Shakib is currently on paternal leave as he and his wife are expecting their third child. It means that Shakib will not be available for the New Zealand tour as well. 

Bangladesh are all set to fly for New Zealand on Tuesday. They’ll play 3 ODIs and three T20Is on this tour.