Can Tigers get past the group stage this time?

Another T20 World Cup knocking at the door. The much-hyped cricket fest, which will take place in the US and West Indies, begins on 2 June with Bangladesh beginning their campaign on 8 June against Sri Lanka. 

The cricket fraternity, needless to say, is all excited to see Bangladesh play some exciting cricket and qualify for the Super 8s of the tournament. 

But what chance do the Tigers have and how will they fare in the upcoming T20 World Cup? 

Bangladesh are in Group D - the 'group of death' if you want to term it - along with South Africa, Sri Lanka, Netherlands and Nepal. They will have to win at least three matches to qualify for the Super 8. 

That seems like a tough job even on the paper. But the reality is even tougher.

Batting doesn't look up to the mark

Bangladesh's batting has been a major concern in the shorter format of the game for a while now, especially when all the other teams have upgraded their game, Bangladesh's approach has remained the same. 160 is still the average total for the Tigers in T20Is which is surely not good enough in the current concept of the game. 

The out-of-form top-order is a huge concern before the T20 World Cup. Bangladesh recently played a T20I series against Zimbabwe and the USA as a preparation for the upcoming World Cup (yes, Zimbabwe, the 13th-ranked team who didn't even qualify for the competition and the 19th-ranked hosts of the World Cup) and the top-order looked as shaky as ever. 

Apart from the first T20I in the Zimbabwe series, Bangladesh's batting didn't look at home even though they were playing on home soil. They were bundled out for 143 after reaching the 100-run mark without losing any wickets in the 11th over in one match, they struggled to chase down 139 in another.

And in the USA series? It was even worse. They failed to chase down 145 runs in a T20I match. To be more specific, they couldn't even score 26 runs from the final 24 balls having five wickets in hand.

The likes of Litton Das and skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto's barren run with the bat has left the Tigers reeling. The options are very limited as well. Tanzid Hasan Tamim has been the one to step up in Litton's off-form. Soumya Sarkar has been in and out of the side but he can do some damage, but inconsistency is an issue for him. 

Even skipper Shanto admitted that Bangladesh's biggest worry in the World Cup is the fragility of their top-order batting. He though blamed the home wickets for batting miseries, mentioned a shift in mentality is needed rather than focusing on skills.

Shakib Al Hasan has been struggling with his batting for quite some time now. Even though Towhid Hridoy has stepped up, there is hardly any firepower to rely on in the late overs. Jaker Ali and Mahmudullah can play big shots but they need time to get settled. And in modern T20Is, you don't get time to get settled.

Bowling is well-equipped but are they good enough to stop the monsters?

Bowlers have surely been in a better position than the batters for Bangladesh. And the bowling attack has some good varieties as well. Rishad Hossain's addition to the side has given the Tigers the luxury of a legspinner which they have been searching desperately for a long time now. 

The pace attack of Mustafizur Rahman, Taskin Ahmed, and Shoriful Islam also looks promising. Taskin's availability in the first few matches of the tournament remains uncertain though.

And then there is Shakib Al Hasan. 

Bangladesh have been doing quite well in the bowling department, but they will face some of the monsters of the game in the upcoming T20 World Cup. They will have to bowl to the likes of Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, and Tristan Stubbs of South Africa who literally rip the bowlers apart in the shorter format of the game. Sri Lanka's Kusal Mendis, and Sadeera Samarawickrama can also cause menace when they get their chance. 

Nepal and Netherlands also have some quality hitters in their rank and Bangladesh's inability to clean up the tail may come back and haunt them in these matches. 

How far will the Tigers go?

As mentioned before, Bangladesh will have to win three matches to qualify for the Super 8. That will undoubtedly be a tough job given the form of the team. They struggled against 13th-ranked Zimbabwe and lost to Sri Lanka at home this year. And to rub salt to the wounds, they suffered a shock series defeat to the USA just before the T20 World Cup.

Bangladesh's recent rivalry against Sri Lanka will motivate the Tigers to go and beat the Lankan Lions but that will be a hard job. But they have to do the tough job if they want to qualify for the Super 8. South Africa, if they don't choke and play their normal game, will not give Bangladesh a chance to roar. 

Netherlands and Nepal are the two matches Bangladesh will expect to come out victorious. But the Netherlands can always cause upset in the T20 World Cup and Nepal have recently beaten West Indies A in a few T20 matches. 

After losing to the USA and Zimbabwe, even winning against Nepal or the Netherlands seems like a tough job, doesn't it?

All in all, Bangladesh may win two matches in the tournament, but that will probably not be good enough to qualify for the Super 8. If they can go on and make it three wins, that will be huge, and a little bit surprising.