Bangladesh out to add some Fizz to CT17

With a fiery new bowler named 'Fizz' leading the young guns and allrounder Mushfiqur Rahim the old guard, Bangladesh are aiming to leave their mark on the Champions Trophy where they are appearing for only the second time.

Bangladesh edged ahead of West Indies in the world rankings to get their place at the 50-over tournament where they will feature in the opening match against hosts England on June 1.

Captain Mashraf Mortaza said the team, who last took part in the trophy in 2006, have the mental strength to overcome the tough conditions in England.

"If you look at our group, you must feel it will be a difficult job for us," Mashrafe said before leaving Dhaka.

"But you can never be sure. We defeated England twice in those conditions, beat Australia once.

"Though those victories are a thing of the past, at least they give you some self-belief. It all depends now on how we mentally make preparations for the tournament," he said.

The Tigers have seen a dramatic rise in their fortunes since the 2015 World Cup. Their move up to seventh saw the West Indies fall out of the top eight teams allowed at the Champions Trophy.

Bangladesh reached the 2015 World Cup quarter-finals – at England's expense – and then posted consecutive one day series victories against Pakistan, India and South Africa to zoom up the rankings.

Mustafizur "Fizz" Rahman has emerged as one of the best young bowlers to come out of Asia in recent years.

He blitzed through four Irish wickets in an eight-wicket win in a warmup international last week to highlight his potential.

In Rahim, the country's Test captain, Bangladesh have their best ever wicketkeeper and a match-winning batsman alongside the likes of Soumya Sarkar who made an unbeaten 87 in the win over Ireland. 

Former captain Habibul Bashar believes Bangladesh have seen a revolution in their game mindset and are now "worthy competitors".

"The 2006 Champions Trophy was just fun. We had to play in the preliminary round to get into the main draw. But after all these years, we are directly playing in the final round," Bashar told AFP.

"During those years our aim was to avoid humiliating losses. We didn't dare to dream of any spectacular achievement. But now we consider ourselves as worthy competitors," he said.

However former opener Shahriar Nafees believes the team will need to punch above their weight to stand up to the likes of England, Australia and New Zealand in Group A.

"We have got to be realistic," said Nafees, architect of their only Champions Trophy win so far, against Zimbabwe in the 2006 preliminary round.

"We are going to play in the Champions Trophy and our rivals are all tough teams. Especially, all three are good in the English conditions where the tournament will be held," he said.

Nafees said Bangladesh could still pull off surprises as their "confidence" is high following a recent run of form.

Last week Bangladesh beat Group A rivals New Zealand in Dublin in the final match of a tri-series that served as preparation for this tournament.

The Tigers drew 1-1 against Sri Lanka in Colombo in a three-match series in April and, although they were beaten by the Black Caps 3-0 in January, they were competitive in all three matches played in New Zealand.

Bangladesh open the tournament against England on June 1 at The Oval before facing Australia on the same ground on June 5.

They end their group phase against New Zealand at Cardiff on June 9.

Champions Trophy 2017 Guide

AUSTRALIA SQUAD: Steve Smith (c), David Warner, Pat Cummins, Aaron Finch, John Hastings, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Moises Henriques, Chris Lynn, Glenn Maxwell, James Pattinson, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, Adam Zampa

Other squads: Every Champions Trophy squad

Group A: Australia, New Zealand, England, Bangladesh.

Group B: India, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Pakistan.

Schedule

Warm-up matches

26 May – Australia d Sri Lanka by two wickets, The Oval

27 May – Bangladesh lost to Pakistan by two wickets, Edgbaston

28 May – India d New Zealand by 45 runs (D/L Method), The Oval

29 May – Australia v Pakistan, Edgbaston

30 May – New Zealand v Sri Lanka, Edgbaston

30 May – India v Bangladesh, The Oval

Tournament

1 June – England v Bangladesh, The Oval (Day)

2 June – Australia v New Zealand, Edgbaston (D)

3 June – Sri Lanka v South Africa, The Oval (D)

4 June – India v Pakistan, Edgbaston (D)

5 June – Australia v Bangladesh, The Oval (D/N)

6 June – England v New Zealand, Cardiff (D)

7 June – Pakistan v South Africa, Edgbaston (D/N)

8 June – India v Sri Lanka, The Oval (D)

9 June – New Zealand v Bangladesh, Cardiff (D)

10 June – England v Australia, Edgbaston (D)

11 June – India v South Africa, The Oval (D)

12 June – Sri Lanka v Pakistan, Cardiff (D)

14 June – First semi-final (A1 v B2), Cardiff (D)

15 June – Second semi-final (A2 v B1), Edgbaston (D)

18 June – Final, The Oval (D)

19 June – Reserve day (D)