Picking the combined England-Bangladesh 11 ahead of their 2023 World Cup clash ft. Joe Root and Mehidy Hasan Miraz
England will take on Bangladesh in match number seven of the 2023 ODI World Cup 2023 at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala on Tuesday. The defending champions would look to start on a clean slate after suffering a nine-wicket hammering at the hands of New Zealand in the tournament opener in Ahmedabad.
England were out of sorts with the bat against the Kiwis and somehow dragged themselves to a competitive 282/9. It was nowhere near enough though as New Zealand romped him in the chase in 36.2 overs with nine wickets in hand.
Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra put the England attack to the sword with blazing tons. The defending champions are set to miss the services of Ben Stokes for the Bangladesh game too as he recovers from his hip injury.
Bangladesh, on the other hand, beat Afghanistan by six wickets in their opening match in Dharamsala. The bowlers held Afghanistan to 156, a total the Bangla Tigers chased down in 34.4 overs.
Ahead of the England-Bangladesh 2023 World Cup match, we pick a combined XI of players available for the game.
Openers: Jonny Bairstow and Litton Das
The aggressive duo of Jonny Bairstow and Litton Das can open the innings for the combined XI. Bairstow was looking good in the match against New Zealand before he was dismissed by Mitchell Santner for 33 off 35 balls.
Das fell cheaply against Afghanistan, bowled by Fazalhaq Farooqi for 13 off 18 balls.
Both batters have the ability to score at a quick pace and get their team off to a good start. They will look to make an impact in Tuesday’s match for their respective sides.
Middle order: Joe Root, Najmul Hossain Shanto, and Jos Buttler (c&wk)
Joe Root, Najmul Hossain Shanto, and England skipper Jos Buttler would form the middle order in the combined XI. Buttler would be the captain as well as the keeper-batter in the side.
Root top-scored for England in the game against New Zealand. He scored a fluent 77 off 86 balls, hitting four fours and a six. He was looking good for a hundred when he was bowled by Glenn Phillips.
Shanto was impressive for Bangladesh in the match against Afghanistan. He anchored the chase of 157, scoring an unbeaten 59 off 83 balls with the aid of three fours and a six. Shanto, who has been in impressive form lately, can lend solidity to the middle order.
Buttler can play the role of aggressor in the middle and end others, as he has so often done in his wonderful career. He showed glimpses of good form in the World Cup match against New Zealand, scoring 43 off 42 balls. His dismissal was a big setback to England’s hopes of setting up a big total.
All-rounders: Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Liam Livingstone
Bangladesh have two quality all-rounders in Mehidy Hasan Miraz and skipper Shakib Al Hasan.
On current form, the former gets the nod ahead of Shakib, which is a big vote of confidence for the kind of stellar performances he has put up recently. Mehidy was the Player of the Match against Afghanistan for claiming 3/25 and scoring 57 off 73 balls.
The dangerous Liam Livingstone also finds a place in the team. He can play the game-changing cameos and can be used as a floater in the middle and end overs. His bowling too has improved significantly in recent times.
Bowlers: Adil Rashid, Mark Wood, Taskin Ahmed, and Mustafizur Rahman
In the bowling department, the raw pace of Mark Wood can complement Taskin Ahmed, who can also be extremely nippy on his day. The latter also has the ability to claim early wickets. The duo would be backed by Mustafizur Rahman, who is one of the best in the business when it comes to variations at the death.
England leg-spinner Adil Rashid did not have a great game against New Zealand. But then, neither did any of the other English bowlers. He can be backed to come good for he has the talent as well as the temperament.