Cricket World Cup History: 3 teams you may not know made their World Cup debut before Bangladesh
One of the most improved cricket teams in the world, Bangladesh has garnered a huge fan base over the last few years. Though Bangladesh played its first international cricket match in 1986, the country's breakthrough moment came in the year 2007 when India was knocked out of the Cricket World Cup by Bangladesh.
Yet another memorable moment came when Bangladesh defeated South Africa in the 'Super Eight' stages of the same tournament. In recent times, Bangladesh registered its first ODI series victory over India in 2016 and also reached the final of Asia Cup in 2012, 2016 and 2018.
While Bangladesh has enjoyed a resurgence in international cricket, there have been a few cricketing nations which have failed to impress. Here are the three teams you may not know played the World Cup before Bangladesh.
#3 Kenya
Kenya made history by becoming the first ever associate nation to reach the semifinals of Cricket World Cup in 2003. The Kenyans lost to India in the semifinals as the world was in awe of this rising African team.
Very few people may remember that Kenya had made their World Cup debut in the year 1996. They were grouped with the full members like Australia, India, West Indies, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe. The Kenyans established themselves as giant killers by upsetting West Indies in a group match. However, they could not win any other match in the 1996 World Cup as they crashed out of the group stage.
This team then reached the 2003 World Cup semifinals but has failed to make a mark since. Kenya's last World Cup appearance came in the year 2011 when they lost all six of their group stage matches.
Also read - World cup winners list