ICC Champions Trophy: 5 reasons why Bangladesh shouldn't be taken lightly
The number six-ranked ODI team in the world, Bangladesh, would be locking horns with England, the co-hosts of the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 in what could be the ‘part two’ of the saga that made Bangladesh who they are now and England who they never imagined could be.
That the Adelaide game between the two sides from the 2015 World Cup brought more benefits to England – who were ousted from the tournament at the hands of the Asian giants – is both surprising and revealing.
Surprising in the sense that the country that could have meandered along with its predating ODI methods and embraced whatever little miracles came their way actually stepped up and decided to shift allegiance from the ‘soul and spirit’ of cricket to its fast-tracked offshoot.
That win was revealing in the sense that Bangladesh, who were the leaders of the cahoot of lesser-performing nations – read Associates – of the ICC, are now placed ahead of former World Champions Pakistan and the West Indies.
The path to success is often laden with indifference, more than anything else. They remain indifferent to you, oblivious to your presence until you rack things up from the base and cause an upheaval too messy to go unnoticed.
That's what Bangladesh have done - six straight series wins at home, against India, Pakistan and South Africa amongst others - and two Test victories, one each against England and Sri Lanka, the latter coming away from home.
That is why, just like the World Cup 2015, Bangladesh could upset a few teams and shake up a few nerves, if nothing else, in what could be a make-or-break tournament for all other teams.
#5 The winning habit
There was a period in time that saw Bangladesh losing 71 of the 72 games that they played across formats. There’s a period now that has made them a dominant force on a global front.
The image has come on the back of impressive series victories against top-ranked ODI sides, one of whom have been pushed down by the Bangla resurgence. The key here is that Bangladesh now know how to win matches.
More than winning matches, they know how to bail themselves out of precarious situations and clinch the series-deciders. A team that was unaware of its own coordinates on the world scene now dreams of becoming a top-ranked team, and to sound a little preposterous, the best in the world.
All of this because they have started winning games consistently – something that was erstwhile unknown to the players – and believe that they are capable of beating even the best sides in the world.