ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024: Bangladesh team preview

Can Bangladesh finally shed the title of perennial underachievers and progress to the knockouts of the T20 World Cup?

Captain: Najmul Hossain Shanto
Fixtures: Sri Lanka (June 7), South Africa (June 10), Netherlands (June 13), Nepal (June 17)
Best finish at T20 World Cup: Second round

Former Bangladesh coach Stuart Law believes the South Asian team must “rethink” their approach towards the game to shed the title of perennial underachievers and leave a mark on the ICC T20 World Cup 2024.

The Bengal Tigers made their ICC tournament debut at the 50-over World Cup in 1999 and stunned favourites Pakistan with a 62-run win in the group stage.

However, 25 years later, they are yet to win a match in the knockout rounds of a World Cup.

“Bangladesh haven’t moved forward in 25 years,” Law told Al Jazeera ahead of the upcoming T20 World Cup.

“Whatever they have been doing hasn’t worked, and they need to find out what needs to happen to make them tick,” the former Australian cricketer said.

Bangladesh open their tournament campaign on June 7 against Sri Lanka, another South Asian nation that has made huge strides since their debut in 1975 by winning both the T20 and 50-over world titles.

Law, who coached Bangladesh’s senior side from 2011 to 2012, believes that the way the game is administered in the country must change.

“Maybe it is time to sit back and think, ‘This is the way we have been doing it, it hasn’t been working, we haven’t moved forward – maybe we need to do it slightly differently’.

“That’s not talking down the current administration, but they need to look at all aspects of the game.”

Bangladesh’s squad for the T20 World Cup relies heavily on the experience of their veteran stars Shakib Al Hasan, Mahmudullah, Najmul