Asia Cup Championship 2022: Will Shakib Al Hasan be able to utilise the veterans 

The loss of pacer Hasan Mahmud, wicketkeeper Nurul Hasan Sohan and veteran batter Litton Das due to injury is a big blow for Bangladesh ahead of the tournament.   

The question now for tigers is what all challenges Bangladesh are facing currently and if Shakib Al Hasan is the right person to lead.

"To have a leader of Shakib's quality, I think it's going to re-energise them," Shane Watson said on The ICC Review. He further added, "He's so experienced. He has captained Bangladesh a lot of times. He has captained in a lot of franchise tournaments as well, especially in the Bangladesh Premier League".

Challenges for Tigers

Bangladesh Cricket Board has been desperate to find a reliable opening pair after their key opener Tamim Iqbal announced retirement from T20Is last year. Since 2021, the management has tried over ten players at the opening spot but none of them impressed enough to grab the place permanently. So finding an opening pair is the biggest challenge for the Asia Cup and World Cup. 

The lack of power-hitters in the squad is yet another weakness and challenge for them. Veteran Mahmudullah Riyad is arguably one of the best power-hitter with them, who is currently struggling with his form.  

Apart from Mahmudullah Riyad, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman are also out of form. While Mustafizur featured in all T20I matches for Bangladesh has managed only five wickets in 2022, Taskin Ahmed has played just two games to go for a high economy rate of 12.57 and no wickets to his credit.

They, being frontline bowlers, need to be in their best form to get the Tigers in a favourable position. 

Challenge for Shakib Al Hasan

Bangladesh lost to India in the last Asia Cup final, and in the past few years, they have been the roaring tigers, especially in such competition. Shakib Al Hasan is the most experienced player for the tigers and has taken his team to many victories. 

"My only aim is that we can do well in the World Cup and these are the preparations for it. If someone thinks that I can change things within one or two days or that someone else will come to change it, then we are living in a fool's kingdom. If you are able to think practically, our true development will be seen when the team really does well in the World Cup in three months' time," said Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan.

This time, the Asia Cup squad for Bangladesh will be under tremendous pressure to see if Captain Shakib Al Hasan can lead his team to glorious victories in the tournament. The squad has a few veterans: Mushfiqur Rahim, Mustafizur Rahman, and the skipper himself. The rest of the team is young and will need their veterans to lead from the front.

Bangladesh recently lost both the ODI and T20I series against Zimbabwe, which is a shock. The performance in the Asia Cup will give them a reality check for the World Cup in Australia, so a lot will be on Shakib Al Hasan on how he leads his team.

Follow all of today's Cricket matches on our Live Match Centre