ICC U19 Cricket World Cup 2012 Teams & Players

bangladesh team profile

Host of the 2002 ICC U19 Cricket World Cup, Bangladesh has performed consistently over the years to win the Plate Final in 1998, 2004 and 2010. It also lost the plate final twice, to South Africa in 2000 and to New Zealand in 2002.

Unlike its preparation for the 2010 event, Bangladesh has not played a lot of international matches recently. In early 2012, it hosted an ODI series against England U19s, which it won 5-2 with a string of impressive performances from Al-Amin, who scored 65 and took five wickets for 33 runs in the final match to secure the victory.

In the recent U19 Asia Cup, Bangladesh U19s won only one of its group matches, losing the vital and rain-affected third match against Afghanistan to miss out on a spot in the semi-finals.

Some members of the team have already experienced the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup, when, in 2010, the team won the Plate Final against Ireland by 195 runs. Half centuries from Mominul Haque and Mahmudul Hasan, coupled with hat tricks from Kamrul Islam Rabbi and Alauddin Babu, sealed the victory.

Placed in a tough group in this year’s tournament, Bangladesh will be hopeful of advancing to the final eight. While it has not won a match yet against South Africa, the team has never lost to Namibia or Sri Lanka. Bangladesh has many previous players to look to for inspiration, with the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup proving a stepping stone for players such as Rajin Saleh, Mohammad Ashraful, Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim, who have each captained the national team.